No Rest After Death
by T-c3
Summary: Spoilers for entire manga. A power hungry Raito wants to take control of his new home, but nothing is held back because there is nothing to lose.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: It took me so long to come up with an idea for a DN fic. Strangely, a song called "Dear Prince" by a Taiwanese pop/rock group (Cherry Boom) inspired me to write it. You'd understand if you heard it. So creepy . . . (especially the PV)

Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note. No way I could, since I'm definitely not that smart.

* * *

He was lying on his back when he opened his eyes groggily, seeing nothing. Well, he saw plenty. That smirk was engraved into his mind as if it were a scar from a nasty burn. But he saw nothing physically around him. The young man gave no reaction when he couldn't make out his very own hand, nor could he hear his own voice. Was this the fate of the dead? The soul leaves the body to be placed in a horrid state between reality and fantasy? Actually, he reasoned, now there was no such thing as reality or otherwise. He was dead. There was nothing else to it. No Heaven would exist for him or anyone else, for that matter. He never believed in the concept of Heaven and Hell, so he wasn't in the least bit surprised to find himself stuck in a place that held no borders, no sight, and no sound. He stopped his train of thought and realized that he couldn't assume anything about where he was. First, he had to explore.

The once-was insomniac slowly got to his feet, unfamiliar with his lack of tangible surroundings and inability to see. What kind of exploring could he really do, anyway? During the process of standing up, he became aware of the fact that he still retained the sense of touch, so he supposed that he could feel around to try to find any kind of object. Though, he seriously doubted his hands would touch anything other than the ground beneath his feet.

As he staggered through the darkness, he noticed a tingling sensation begin in his feet and gradually start to travel up to his knees. He tried his best to ignore it, but the feeling was turning into pain. He briefly wondered how he could even experience such a thing when he was dead, but that thought was immediately erased when he doubled over from the excruciating pain that had rapidly made its way up to his neck. Since he wasn't used to the intensity, he let a scream escape from his throat. It wasn't like it mattered, since no one was around, and he couldn't hear. Then the pain reached his head, and he squeezed his eyes shut, anticipating the worst. But it suddenly left him.

L snapped his eyes open and was fairly startled that he could see himself. He mumbled his disbelief and was further shocked to hear his voice. Looking around, the young man came to the quick realization that he was right after all.

He was alone.

"It's the cruelest fate for me," he whispered. "I have nothing to occupy myself with, no mystery to solve . . . and no sweets to eat."

He knew eating didn't matter now, but he _would_ miss the taste of sugar and the happiness that it brought him. Though, it upset him far more that he couldn't put his skills to use any longer. What would he do for the rest of eternity? Think about the chaos that was surely ensuing in the world of the living now that he was eradicated, L supposed. No, that wasn't like him. That would be sulking. But it wasn't as if he could do anything to help the situation.

There was nothing _anyone_ could do. He was the only person who still had suspicion of Yagami Raito after the whole Yotsuba incident. With him gone, Raito could easily become the puppeteer that L was positive he dreamt of becoming. Kira could finally have the control he wanted. L shuttered at the thought.

"I'd much rather be a restless soul that becomes a ghost, damned to wander the living world until the apocalypse comes. At least then I could haunt him," he muttered as he sat on the peculiar ground. "What _am_ I sitting on, I wonder?" He poked it curiously but found it to be like any normal floor of a room. Drawing his knees to his chest, he looked up in thought. He would go crazy with merely sitting in a place that consisted of obscurity. He knew he would become anxious within a day's worth of time. Wait, was there even such a thing as "time" in this place? "I would think not," he answered his mental question out loud. L found it strange that he, who was socially inept, suddenly had the urge to be surrounded by people. "It must be the shock of death. It's making me think bizarre things."

And it was a shock, indeed. He never would have guessed that he would die at such a random time. Granted, he knew something was wrong when Watari deleted all of the data, but he didn't think he was next. L wondered what kind of performance Raito put on after his death. He frowned at the thought of Kira screaming over his limp body in "anguish." Then L proceeded to go through a list of all the things he could have done to prove to the team that he was right in suspecting the teenager. They were never behind him on that, but he didn't expect them to agree with his tactics completely. If he had pushed it all one step further, then maybe Raito's true nature would have been revealed. _He had an ugly side after all_, L thought. _I always knew he was too perfect._ It had seemed as if the boy was hiding some dark secret that, if made known, would destroy him. Even though the detective ended up dead, he had some solace in knowing the fact that he wasn't wrong.

"Yagami Raito is Kira," he said emphatically.

"Really, now?" a voice asked from behind him.

L twisted his head in a fashion that should have been uncomfortable, yet strangely wasn't, to see who the voice belonged to. "Oh, it's you."

* * *

Yes, I know. That was incredibly short. The chapters will get longer, I promise. It's just that I wanted to end it after those numerous paragraphs of barely-there dialogue. Oh, and this is such a sad attempt at a cliffhanger. Forgive me. Eheheh . . .

Now to explain the "afterlife." Ryuuk said at the end of the manga that "death is equal," everyone goes to same place when they die. So there is no Heaven or Hell. I just wanted to clear that up for everyone.

Minna-san gokigenyou.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update. Finals week killed me, and then I had to do last minute Christmas shopping when I got home. (There is a severe lack of malls where I go to college.) Anyway, this chapter is better when it comes to length, but I'll try to make the others even longer.

* * *

The blonde squatted beside him, a casual smirk on his face. "I'm surprised you recognize me."

"Likewise."

"You're hard to forget, you know," the boy said frankly.

Dodging the small talk, he asked, "How did you die?"

Mello's face went dark, and his eyes veered off to the side in annoyance. "That bitch probably wrote my name down on a scrap of Death Note paper. She must've had it hidden in her clothes or something and kept it from my sight. Damn!" He clenched his fists. "I shouldn't have been so nice to her!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"That woman, Taka—oh, right." Mello hit himself lightly on the forehead. "You've been dead for years. You wouldn't know about any of this crap."

L's eyebrows knit together in confusion. "Did you say 'years'?"

"Yeah. It's been a little over five, I think. Well, we were never told the exact date you died," he said with a shrug.

"But I just got here," L said, more to himself. "What was the date when you passed on?"

"Um . . . January something, 2010. Why? And what the hell do you mean 'you just got here'?"

L closed his eyes. _I'm already losing my touch._ Of course. He couldn't think in terms of "time," since it was nonexistent. To make sure he wouldn't forget that again, he burned that piece of information into his memory, right next to the little tidbit that said "Raito is Kira."

"Hey!" Mello stood and placed his hands on his hips. "Answer me already!"

_He still doesn't have any patience._ "There is no time here. To me, it has felt like minutes, but in the living world, it's apparently been years."

"So that bastard, Kira, could show up at any moment, huh?"

L nodded.

"You said Kira is Yagami Raito. That name sounds familiar," the boy said pensively. "I think it came up a few times in our investigation. Oh, wait! I remember! Near said he had suspicions that he was Kira! Damn . . . That means he was right." Mello suddenly looked defeated, his eyes downcast and his arms limp at his sides.

"So Near thought so as well. Interesting . . . "

That pushed the wrong button. Mello roughly shoved L's knees down and grabbed the collar of his shirt, putting his face inches away from the great detective's. "Are you saying that you would've picked _him_ as your successor?" he shouted.

L remained calm and shook his head slightly. "I can't say who I would have chosen. I wasn't ready yet. Though, I always thought that the two of you put together was best. What one was lacking, the other possessed."

Mello narrowed his eyes then finally released the older man and stood up straight. "Whatever."

After a momentary silence, L said, "I have a question for you."

"What?" came the brusque reply.

"When you arrived at this place, were you blind and deaf?"

His head snapped down to look at him. "Yeah! It was really weird! When I finally decided to get my bearings, I got this tingling feeling that turned into extreme pain. Then I could finally regained my senses. After that, I just walked around for a while and eventually found you."

Now it made sense. You have to come to terms with your death, in a way, and make the best of it. He knew Mello wasn't one to just submit to the fate handed to him. The boy was too obstinate for that, and L knew stubbornness was a permanent part of his behavior. He almost smiled at how very little Mello had changed since their last meeting . . . and also at the fact that the two of them shared that trait. L wasn't stubborn in quite the same way, but he did hate giving up just as much as Mello did. That fact was obvious just from looking at his methods in dealing with the Kira case.

"I was thinking that if I walk around some more, maybe I'll find Matt," the blonde said offhandedly.

That name sounded familiar to L, but he couldn't place it.

After Mello must have noticed the look of puzzlement on the man's face, he stated, "He was third in line. The one with red hair, remember? I think you said he seemed too indifferent or something."

"Ah, yes. He was the boy who was always distracted by a hand-held game."

"Well, he died a little before I did, gunned down." He looked away, his voice taking on a softer tone. "It was my fault."

More memories were coming to him, ones of the three boys who could have been the next great detective. Near was the most concentrated and reasonable, while Mello and Matt seemed to be glued at the hip and constantly played pranks on the other children. To him, Matt was simply a follower. L couldn't see him being his successor, and it wasn't like Matt seemed all that interested in the job anyway. It didn't surprise him to see Mello feeling guilty about the boy's death, since he had looked at the two as good friends.

"Yeah, I'm gonna do that. See ya later," he said with a brief wave of his hand.

"How would you even find me again? We don't know how vast this place is," L reasoned.

"Doesn't matter. I'll run into you eventually, just as I did before."

As L immersed himself in thought, Mello disappeared into the nothingness that was the "afterlife."

--

During the time that L sat thinking, various souls passed by, many not even looking at him. The fact that he rarely saw anyone made him assume that the void he was in must be enormous. The number of the dead far exceeded that of the living, so the "afterlife" was probably as big as the universe itself. It made him wonder how Mello found him. The whole idea of there being no sense of "time" was skewing his thinking process.

"Geez, it felt like years went by. Did you move?" an irritated Mello asked as he walked up to him, his red-headed friend in tow.

"No. I haven't even stood." L nodded to Matt as a silent greeting, and the boy nodded back. "About how many souls did you come across?"

Mello ran one hand through his hair and placed the other on his hip. Looking upwards, he replied, "I dunno. Hundreds, probably. What really creeped me out was this circle of kids playing some weird game. It looked like something out of a horror movie. I think I even saw some people from feudal Japan."

"Feudal Korea," Matt corrected.

Peering at him from the corners of his eyes, the blonde asked, "And how would you know the difference?"

"The clothes."

"Yeah, I get that. But you're a game freak, so how would you, of all people, know the difference?"

As the two rambled on, something caught L's eye. He looked to his left and saw an older gentleman trudging along. Something about the man was recognizable, but all he could see was his back. L knew he was older by the grey in his hair, but even something about the man's hair was familiar. Deciding it was best to ignore the two orphans, L stood and walked over to him. As he got closer, his already wide eyes grew larger. It couldn't be.

"Yagami-san?"

The man stopped, but he didn't look behind him.

"Ah, so I was right. When did you die?" L asked, walking to Yagami's side in his usual hunched over manner.

"L . . . " he said in a low, tired voice.

When the former sugar obsessed man was facing Yagami's front, he cocked his head. "What is wrong? You look rather exhausted."

"I'm dead, Ryuuzaki. How else should I look?" he said as he turned away.

Then it hit him. Yagami probably died sometime after finding out his son is Kira. That would explain his "emotional state," for the lack of better words.

"At least I can have some peace of mind knowing that you were wrong about my son," he said quietly, eyes closed.

L slouched further. _So he doesn't know after all. Well, I won't tell him the truth. He should have his peace._

"Ryuuzaki . . . are you sorry for what you did, for all that you put him through?" Yagami asked, melancholy lining his voice. "I know you already apologized after we found out about the Death Note, but I had the feeling that you still suspected Raito."

It took all the young man had not to give him a look that said "are you kidding me?" But he wondered why Yagami was so positive that Raito isn't Kira. He made it sound like there was hard evidence that proved L wrong. "First, tell me how you know Raito-kun isn't Kira."

"I saw his lifespan with the Shinigami eyes."

L perked up slightly. The eyes . . . He had forgotten about that. "So that's how it works, then. A Death Note user doesn't have a lifespan seen through the Shinigami eyes." _I wonder how he pulled it off._ "Yagami-san, how did he react when I died?"

"He screamed and said that we were next. His reaction was much stronger than ours. Raito . . . was very upset at your departure."

He almost twitched.

Mello laughed some distance away. "Really? 'Upset'?" He walked over, smirking.

"You!" Yagami bellowed. "Well, at least you met your end!"

L looked back to the boy then at Yagami. The two had obviously met in the living world. Though, the man's anger was almost uncharacteristic of him.

Mello's smirk deepened. "Tell me, old man, just how 'upset' was he?"

"What are you getting at, Mihael?"

_He knows his true name._

"Heh, you remember. I'm flattered. Well, let me tell you something you oughtta know."

L raised a hand. "Wait, Mello. Don't."

"Why shouldn't I? He'll find out sooner or later. The bastard has to die sometime."

_But the chances of them meeting are 0.1 percent. The fact that we happen to be in the same vicinity is one step less than a miracle._

"I heard that Raito is your son, so I find this highly amusing. You know why?" He paused for dramatic effect. "He's Kira."

Yagami shook his head. "As I just told Ryuuzaki—"

"It doesn't matter! If L says he's Kira, then he's Kira!" Mello shouted.

He was in utter disbelief. Turning to L, he stuttered, "Y-you . . . still think he's . . . "

L sighed a bit. "As I was dying, and your son was holding me, I saw a malicious smile on his face. He wanted me to know that he had won."

"What?" Yagami stumbled backwards, eyes wide. "N-no, there must be a mistake. He had a lifespan! He wasn't using a Death Note!"

He sounded frantic, like he was trying to reason it all out. L felt sympathy for the older man. He couldn't even begin to imagine what was going through his mind after finding out that his son is a mass murderer. Judging from the look in Yagami's eyes, L assumed that he was disgusted and ashamed. How many times had the man told him that Raito definitely wasn't Kira? To know the disturbing truth, that his teenaged son killed so many people, some even innocent, must be tearing him up inside.

"Maybe he wasn't using it at the time?" Mello suggested. It was evident by his facial expression that he was fully enjoying the man's reaction.

"Yagami-san, why else would Raito-kun have such a look? He fooled you all. I don't even want to think about the things he did in the five years after my death. I'm sorry, but the fact that your son is Kira is absolutely not a fabrication."

L knew that he would never speak with Yagami after this. The older man's mouth went slack, and his eyes stared at nothing. Either he would never accept it, or he'd become smothered with misery. L wasn't sure which would be the outcome, but he had a gut feeling that Yagami was never going to even glance at L if they should happen to meet again.

The distressed man slowly backed away, his eyes still not focused on anything, then he finally turned around and began walking shakily. He would never be at rest.

Once Yagami was out of sight, L said in a reprimanding tone, "You shouldn't have told him."

"Hey, the man threatened my life back when we were in the living world," he said with a shrug, his smirk's intensity decreasing.

"Weren't you the 'bad guy' in that situation, though?" Matt spoke up.

Mello looked at him with dull eyes. "You weren't there, so you can't give your opinion. I only told you about it."

"Yeah, and even the way you explained it made it sound as if you were the 'bad guy.' Man . . . I could really go for a cigarette," he said out of nowhere.

"But you're dead. Souls don't have a nicotine addiction," Mello said firmly, crossing his arms.

"It's a habit that's hard to break."

L shoved his hands into his pockets and stared at Mello, deciding to let the previous subject go. He had been meaning to ask him. "How did you get that scar?"

The blonde put a hand to his face and replied, "I was in an explosion. I don't know why my scar is still here, though, since this is my soul, not my body."

"I wouldn't know how any of that works. Just the same, I wonder why I still have the bags under my eyes."

"How can you tell they're there? I don't a see a mirror around."

Matt patted the pockets on his vest in search of his beloved cigarettes and lighter while saying, "How can you tell your scar is there?"

"Shut up, Matt," he said with mock aggravation. "I can feel it on my face."

"And I can feel the bags under my eyes," L said simply. "Now, on to more important matters. Can you fill me in on what happened after my death?"

--

Even though L only had very few details, he was appalled at how everything had gotten so out of control. He had a feeling that Raito had taken his place as "L," but he still felt extremely apprehensive when thinking that Kira was using his name for his own twisted desires. Along with getting that bit of information, he found out that Mello had joined the mafia. The boy had no problem with revealing his unconventional methods, but, of course, L couldn't chastise him for it. The detective himself had questionable means for getting people to admit the truth . . . or at least the truth he wanted. The Kira case alone showed that.

"I'd say our chances of running into the bastard are slim to none, so what are we gonna do? I'm bored as hell already," Mello complained.

"It's better than _being_ in Hell, though," Matt stated lethargically, seemingly depressed that he couldn't have a smoke.

L looked upwards and said, "At least there would be something to do there."

Mello wrinkled his nose in disgust. "You wouldn't be going to Hell, so why are you talking like that? You fought for the side of 'good' and all."

"Yes . . . but I did it for selfish reasons. I suppose I would go to Heaven, if it existed, since I never killed or did anything so horrendous." He paused as a thought occurred to him. "I wonder what kind of panic would result if people knew 'Heaven' and 'Hell' were creations of mankind, all from the vivid imaginations of religious fanatics."

"Well, for one, " Matt said while plopping himself onto the ground, some distance from where L was sitting, "criminals would have no fear of 'life after death.' If they felt they would never get caught, they'd have nothing to lose. That would give Kira a harder time trying to control the populace."

L gave the redhead a sidelong glance. He was being very talkative. Even though he had known Matt for a very short amount of time, he could tell the boy was nearly an introvert. Perhaps he had pulled a one-eighty since then.

"It must be the lack of nicotine that's making you act so weird," Mello said, an eyebrow raised. "You're talking a lot."

"It wasn't like I never talked," he responded with feigned hurt.

"Yeah, but really only with me. You were practically antisocial when you were alive."

"That's 'asocial,'" L corrected.

"Huh?"

"The term 'antisocial' means that the person is hostile and doesn't obey the law. Someone who is 'asocial' just wants to be left alone."

Mello dulled his eyes and said, "Why are you telling me this? It's not like it matters. Geez, were you always this way?"

L ignored the question, which was rhetorical anyway, and put the tip of his thump between his teeth. He was calculating the probability that he would meet Raito and ended up with 0.5 percent. It would be lower if he hadn't already met up with people he knew. That in itself was a mystery to him. With that thought in mind, L suddenly got to his feet and began walking off. He felt better knowing that he wouldn't bump into his rival.

"Where are you going?" the redhead asked nonchalantly.

"I want to see who I can find. It would be interesting if I come across famous people in history," he stated matter-of-factly, peering over his shoulder.

"Like who?" Mello piped up.

"Perhaps Adolf Hitler or Queen Elizabeth."

Matt cocked his head slightly, while Mello's jaw dropped.

"What? Do you find that strange?"

"Yes!" the blonde yelled. "Why would you even put those two together? And why the hell would you want to meet Hitler?"

L turned to face them and said rather firmly, "Kira reminds me of him. Hitler wanted a utopia of people he deemed worthy of living and got rid of the 'filth' accordingly, in his eyes. And from what you've told me, Kira has gained quite a following. Although Hitler's following was on a much grander scale, Kira's can easily reach a high point where a war is completely possible. Of course, people would be too afraid to fight against Kira, so only the extremely daring or stupid would try such a thing."

Mello stared at him with a mix of fear and confusion. "You've . . . put a lot of thought into this . . . "

"What about Queen Elizabeth?" Matt asked.

The detective turned back around and shrugged. "It was the first name that came to mind after Hitler."

Then an awkward silence settled in.

Completely ignoring them, L continued walking, his hands in his pockets. He was bored. L couldn't remember the last time he had absolutely nothing to do. Quite frankly, it disturbed him. He was the kind of man who always needed something to occupy himself, and usually his computer was the best source.

Trying not to think about the joys of the living world, L spotted someone off in the distance and decided to try talking to them. Of course, he hadn't forgotten about the inevitable language barrier. Though, he was hoping language was extinguished in this place. Perhaps even though they were all technically speaking different languages, they could still understand one another. This was something L wanted to find out. If he couldn't solve a murder case, then solving the mysteries of the "afterlife" would have to suffice.

"Excuse me," he said in English, since that was a far more universal language than Japanese.

The person turned around to face him. It was a young girl of, what looked like, European descent. "Yes?"

L relaxed slightly when she responded in English. So even if the language barrier was up, he could still communicate with her. To test his theory, he continued in Japanese. "What do you know of this place?"

Without even so much as blinking, she replied, "This is where all souls come to 'rest,' if you wish to call it that. Many that I have seen are agitated or depressed. I'm afraid I don't know anything else."

L looked down at her musingly. "To my ears, you were speaking Japanese just now."

"Really? To me, you're speaking German." She laughed slightly, from embarrassment or nervousness, he couldn't tell. "You're the first person I've talked to since getting here."

"Ah, well, I thank you for your assistance," L said politely, already moving on to find someone else.

"But I didn't help," she called after him.

"You did," he reassured her, not looking back.

Now he was all the more curious about the workings of the "afterlife," and he would get the information he wanted. There was no stopping L once he made up his mind.

* * *

Don't worry. He'll meet Raito soon. That'll be fun to write. /grins evilly/ Oh, and even though L died in 2004, and Mello died in 2010, the months make it closer to 5 years than 6 (just in case that confused anyone).

Minna-san gokigenyou.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: So . . . sick . . . of reading . . . I picked too many English-based courses for this semester, so I have way too much crap to read (and many papers to write). I should probably be reading right now . . . but I need a break. So, yeah, if I don't update for a while after this, you'll know the reason. /sweatdrops/

* * *

L didn't know how it was possible, but he felt extremely worn out. After so much walking and asking questions, he needed a break. He _had_ asked someone why he felt tired, considering it was strange to feel that way when you're dead, but they told him that it seems to happen to every soul; there is no explanation for it. Besides discovering that, he found out that a soul is naturally attracted to other souls that they knew during their life. So now it made sense why Mello was able to find him not once but twice. Other than those pieces of information, he had nothing. Yet, he was grateful to find out about the attraction of familiar souls. This meant he _would_ come across Raito at some point. He would have to mentally prepare himself for such a meeting.

The wide-eyed man sat gracelessly and drew his knees up to his chest as always. Though, just as he did that, a high pitched voice called out to him. He recognized it immediately and was tempted to roll his eyes. _I almost would rather be faced with Kira than her right now._

"Ryuuzaki-san!" the former model shrieked. Once Misa reached him, she knelt and asked quickly, "Have you seen Raito?"

"Not yet," he answered monotonously.

"Ohhh," she moaned, ruffling her hair with both hands. "I really want to find him!"

"So I guess, to you, he's already dead."

"Yes," the pesky woman responded forlornly, looking as though she would cry. Her love for Raito seemed to have intensified in those five years. "Misa committed suicide some time after she found out." Then she went back to being her perky self. "So now I'm _desperately_ trying to find him!"

Since L really didn't care anymore, he blurted out, "I find it very unlikely that he'd be happy to see you, but go right on ahead. He doesn't deserve anyone less aggravating."

"W-what?"

He sighed, not even bothering to look at her. He could picture the appearance impeccably. A quivering bottom lip, eyes filled with hurt and brimming with tears, and curled hands drawn up to her chin. There was no point in holding back his sharp comments. They were all dead. The social norms no longer applied, like L paid attention to them, anyway.

"Ryuuzaki-san, how could you be so mean?" she wailed.

"Because I can. Since Raito-kun was Kira, you must have been the second Kira. Therefore, I have no reason to be kind towards you," he stated frankly.

The conflicting tenses were starting to get on his nerves. According to Misa, Raito was dead, but with time not existing, he wasn't sure if using past was correct. For the sake of not confusing the former model, he decided to stick with that tense.

Misa stood and put her hands on her hips in frustration. "What are you talking about? Raito wasn't Kira. And how many times have I said that I wasn't the second Kira? Geez . . . "

"Why are you still denying it?" he asked, finally looking at her. The detective didn't understand why she was so passionate about refuting her guilt when there was no point.

"Fine, be that way!" She sounded like a spoiled brat. Stomping her foot, Misa stated firmly, "I'm going to continue looking for my Raito." And with that, she disappeared off into the distance.

L merely shook his head, glad to be rid of her presence. He wanted to be alone and have some peace and quiet to think. He had to calm himself for whenever he met Raito. Although it was quite rare for him to lose his temper, it _had_ happened. And he was about 99.9 percent sure he would want to punch the younger man in the face the instant he saw him. No, that was an understatement. He wanted to do _far_ more to Raito.

"Hey," Mello said nonchalantly as he walked over to him, Matt following once again. "I don't know how the hell I keep finding you."

"We are naturally drawn to those we knew during life," L stated while getting to his feet. As much as he didn't mind talking with Mello, he really did want to be alone at the moment.

"Before you go and ignore us," Mello said with irritation, "you should hear me out. We found something _very_ interesting."

The detective looked at him and urged with his eyes to go on.

"Apparently, it's taboo to talk about, so you're not gonna get any info from most people. We happened to run into a real bastard, worse than Kira, who told us all about it. Since no one likes to hear it, he loves jabbering on and on to get people riled up or something."

"Mello," the redhead interrupted.

"I'm getting to it! Geez! Anyway," he said as he walked closer to L, "there's this thing that looks like a hole in the ground, and if you jump into it, your soul gets destroyed." He smirked devilishly. "Obliteration of your very existence."

L couldn't believe his protégé had found out about something so astounding. There was a phenomenon in this world that was like the living equivalent of suicide? He had to know more.

"But don't ask me where the thing is. It's almost impossible to find, and finding it more than once is unheard of. At least, that's what he told us."

L wanted to smile at hearing such information. It wasn't that he liked the idea of annihilation; he just found it amazing that such a thing existed. Perhaps it was used as punishment for the truly evil. Maybe even wars had been fought over it. Ideas were flying through his head, and he suddenly felt alive again.

"Hey! Snap out of it!" Mello yelled as he shook L's shoulder.

The former insomniac looked at the two sharply and said, "Don't mention this to Raito-kun."

"Have you met him already?" Matt questioned.

"No, but I will eventually, and that means you two will also."

"But I never met the guy while I was alive," the redhead countered.

"You're naturally drawn to me, and I'm naturally drawn to him. That was what I was referring to."

Matt looked to his friend and said, "I really didn't know L, so how—"

"God, Matt! You're following me around, aren't you? Just shut up already!"

L sighed, growing tired with the direction their little chat had taken. Now all he wanted to do was find someone willing to tell him about that "hole in the ground." Judging from what Mello already told him, only certain types of people would probably say anything about it. Criminals were the best bet.

But what if Raito already found out? Surely, he would try to lure the his rival to it in an effort to destroy him completely. He knew Raito would _not_ put up with him for very long. He'd boast a little about his accomplishments, like getting L killed, then would get extremely frustrated with his presence.

"You two . . . Don't try to find me. I need to go do some research," the older man said, somewhat monotonously.

"Sure, go for it," Mello replied.

_It's not just research I need to do, though. I need to find Raito-kun._

--

L's "investigation" was not going smoothly at all. He had yet to find a single person willing to give up any kind of information. No one would even say they knew it existed. It was greatly frustrating for him, since he was used to getting answers, but he had to keep reminding himself that this world was severely unlike the one he grew up in. It was an entirely different game that he was playing. The only thing he needed was patience, but he never had much of that to begin with.

"Excuse me," he said for what felt like the millionth time.

"Whado _you_ want?"

The gruff response made L perk up slightly. All of the others simply ignored him or forced themselves to be civil.

"Well, ya freak?"

L took much comfort in the man's poor attitude. _Finally, something different._ "I would like to ask you about a hole in the ground that is considered a taboo subject."

"Oh, _that_."

The man did not continue, but just the fact that he acknowledged its existence made L almost hyper. He had to stop himself from grinning.

"Yer pretty bold to go askin' 'bout it. Why should I tell ya anythin'?"

L wasn't sure why this man had an accent, since the language barrier was extinguished, but he was too excited to really pay attention to that. "I have nothing to offer you. Is there something I could do, perhaps, in exchange for any information you have?"

He scratched his chin in thought. "Ya _could_ offer me somethin'. Ya have a body I can beat around, maybe yerself even?" he asked, smirking.

L didn't even have to think about it. "I do, actually, but I haven't found him yet."

"Ah, someone ya wanna get revenge on from the livin' world, eh?"

"You could say that."

The man's smirk widened. "I'll let ya in on a little secret to make this a sweet deal fer myself," he said in a hushed tone. "If ya meditate like hell, thinkin' only 'bout that person ya wanna meet, you'll find 'em pretty quick. Ya can do that fer people ya just met here, too."

"Really . . . That's very interesting. I shall do that, then you can 'beat him around.' Now, what about the hole?"

"Ahh, quit callin' it that. We got a name fer it, y'know. We call it 'Suicide Crater,'" he said proudly.

L only stared at him with dull eyes. "Pardon me, but what kind of name is that? Who came up with such a—"

"Hey! It's what we cons came up with!" He grabbed onto L's shirt and held his other fist in the air as if we was going to punch him. "Got a problem with that?"

"Don't you mean _ex_-cons? We're all dead."

"But we still commit crimes. Well, heh, that's what the livin' call 'em anyway. Nothin' here is a 'crime.'"

After his temper subsided and he released L, the former insomniac said, "So you were criminal when you were alive. I figured as much."

"Why? I look the part?"

"No, never mind."

"What were ya in the livin' world? A nerd?" At this, he laughed hysterically.

L let that slide and didn't answer him. If he said what he was, the man was sure to clam up, even if he _was_ promised a body.

"Alright. So about the Suicide Crater."

He cringed at hearing the poorly named phenomenon.

"When yer entire body is in it, yer gone fer good. No undoin' it. Some say that the soul gets reincarnated er whatever, but I say that's full of shit. No one's got any proof, though. No way to get any." He shrugged. "So c'mon. Find that guy. I told ya what ya wanted to know."

"Yes, and I thank you for that, but I prefer to have a private chat with him first. I'll find you later on so you can knock him around."

The man narrowed his eyes. "Why should I trust ya?"

"Why should I trust _you_? _You're_ the criminal." He began to walk away. "I'm a detective, but even then, some aren't honest."

"A detect—WHAT?"

After hearing the man explode, L quickened his pace. He wasn't sure if he was being chased, but there was no harm in playing it safe. He knew from testing that he could still feel pain, so he'd rather avoid getting into a scuffle.

With becoming exhausted at times and being able to feel pain, he wondered what the real difference between being dead and alive was. Well, he hadn't felt hunger or thirst yet, but were those the only sensations that didn't cross over? He had to get the common notions the living people had out from his mind. What people thought about the "afterlife," regardless of their beliefs, were a bunch of fictitious stories that made just as much sense in the living world as they did here. Even though L had no faith, he never could have imagined that he'd end up in a world that was even more unforgiving than the one he came from. At least he had his sweets when he was alive. -1-

L shook his head slightly. He didn't want to begin thinking about all the confectionary wonders that he loved so much. It would only make him sad. "This void is truly a cruel place," he mumbled to himself.

"It definitely seems that way, doesn't it?"

L halted immediately. He didn't have to think about who that voice belonged to. _Already?_ He slowly turned around, only to be greeted with that identical smug expression that he had died seeing.

"Hello, Ryuuzaki," Raito said with mock pleasantness, his tone utterly betraying his countenance.

He knew the name was meant as an insult, but he wasn't affected by it. He _wanted_ to meet with Raito, so any kind of taunting would be useless against him.

"How have you been?" he asked in that same "friendly" tone as he walked up to L. He started to circle him, the smirk on his face deepening. "I assume that you've—"

"Don't bother," L cut in. "Anything you plan on doing will have no influence on me." In a return taunt, he continued, "So how did you die? Amane-san didn't tell me, and it slipped my mind to ask her." That was a lie. He knew she would mess with the facts and make his death seem grand, nearly poetic, and he didn't want to hear any of it.

Abruptly, the younger man's face went dark.

"So I struck a nerve then?" He bent down slightly and looked up at Raito in curiosity. It was always fun toying with him. "I suppose you went rather pitifully."

With that being said, Raito grabbed the collar of L's shirt with such rigor that the detective nearly lost his balance. He was yanked so close to Raito that their foreheads touched.

It truly amazed L how much he had changed. In the living world, the auburn-haired teen rarely showed signs of anger. Then again, L had suspected that he was concealing most of his emotions and only let a façade play on his visage 24/7. There was always something odd about Raito's movements and expressions. They all seemed too controlled. But he also had to wonder if the current Raito was due to whatever happened after his arch rival was out of the picture. Perhaps without the constant surveillance, Kira was able to behave more like himself. No, he still had to keep up some kind of act for the rest of the team. Now L was wishing he had asked Yagami what Raito's actions were during those five years. Well, he could always ask someone from the team.

It suddenly occurred to him that Raito was not saying anything. All he was doing was glaring at the former sugar obsessed man with the utmost hatred. He was definitely not used to seeing such an intense emotion in those eyes, but it didn't faze him. All he did was remain still and waited for the younger man to speak.

"What?" Raito growled. "You have nothing else to say?"

His tone was far lower than L could remember it being. Was this his true voice, or was he really that infuriated? How different was he from the act he had put on? L reasoned that, to be a mass murderer, his soul must have been drenched in malice and his judgment incredibly distorted. And from looking at Raito's face, merely centimeters away from his own, he knew those were the circumstances.

After more silence followed, L looked off to the side, slightly upwards. "How long do you plan on keeping me this close, Raito-kun?" He then looked directly into his eyes, almost as if challenging him. He wondered how far he could go until the man finally snapped. "I understand quite well how livid you are."

Kira's eyes became slits, and his voice was barely audible. "I know you can feel pain."

"Yes, I know that as well," L replied simply.

The detective could tell that his casual attitude with him was only making Raito angrier, but he didn't particularly care how angry he got. L could easily fight him if it came down to that. Though, when they had fought in the living world, it ended up being a draw, and Raito wasn't anywhere near as enraged as he was now.

That actually brought something to mind. Why had Raito acted differently during the time when he was locked up and when they were handcuffed together? He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something was off with Raito's personality. He seemed . . . innocent. There was a "puppy dog" glint to his eyes at times that disturbed L to the point of making his appetite disappear . . . for a few minutes, at least.

Finally, Raito pulled away, rather slowly, but he kept his grip on L's shirt. Then in one swift motion, he brought his other hand back, already made into a fist, and aimed for the older man's face.

But L saw it coming.

He caught the fist and, in return, thrust his knee up into Raito's groin. It wasn't something he usually did whenever in a fight, but Raito deserved it. Well, he deserved worse, but it was a start.

Because of the excessive force that was used by L, he dropped to the ground almost instantly, eyes bulging. Raito refused to fall completely, though, for it would damage his pride even further. Instead, he sat on his legs as if kneeling and coughed slightly, desperately trying to hide his pain.

L got down to his eye level and said frankly, "I knew there was a 76 percent chance you would do something like that, so I was well guarded. You are too predictable sometimes, Raito-kun."

He shot him another glare. "Stop using such familiarity," he commanded.

"Ah, well, it's a habit," L responded, bringing an index finger to his mouth. "Would you prefer to be called Kira instead?" He made sure his tone held no disdain, for he knew how much his apathy was bothering Raito.

The ex-murderer chuckled softly as he got to his feet. Crossing his arms, he said through a malicious grin, "Sure, that's fine."

"Then Raito-kun it is," L replied with mock cheeriness, standing as well.

His grin turned into a scowl.

"So I heard that you caused quite an uproar in my absence. I'm sure posing as me was entertaining for you."

"Yes, it was," he said haughtily.

"But you weren't very good at it, since Near saw through it." Seeing the look of mild confusion on his face, he said, "Mello told me whatever he knew."

"So you've seen the little bastard."

"Now, now, Raito-kun. You shouldn't call him that, considering all of the things _you_ did."

He snorted. "So you're calling me a 'bastard.' That seems rather immature, don't you think?"

"I never said I wasn't immature. Quite the contrary, in fact," he stated in a casual tone. "Anyway, you should know a few things. Although I'm sure you hate being in my presence, there's really no avoiding it. I have learned that one is naturally drawn to those one knew in the living world. So even if you try to run, Raito-kun, I'll end up bumping into you again at some point."

Raito looked off to the side and grumbled, "Fantastic."

"We may as well get some things out of the way," L suggested.

"Like what?" he spat back.

"Since you're in no good mood, I'll let you go first." _It's best to let him think he has control. He should open up more that way._ "Ask me whatever you wish, and I'll tell you the truth."

Looking at the sable-haired man, he raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "What would I possibly want to know?"

He shrugged.

Giving an exasperated sigh, he closed his eyes and became silent for a moment. When his eyelids slowly raised, a smirk appeared on his face. "Alright, L. I have a question for you. How did it feel to be defeated by me?"

"Probably the same way you felt when you were defeated."

"And how would you know that I was 'defeated' and didn't simply die from some natural cause?" he asked smugly.

"You look too young. Perhaps you got hit by a car, but I tend to think that Near got the best of you."

Raito glowered at him. "Still think you know everything, huh?"

"I'm only making a deduction, Raito-kun."

He gave another snort.

"Now it's my turn." L took a step towards him. "How did you manage to do it?"

"Do what?" he asked with aggravation.

"Kill me."

"Oh, that."

L had to suppress a frown. He knew Raito didn't give a damn about him, that he never did, but the way he referred to his death was somewhat depressing.

"I ingeniously cornered Rem into writing your name down in her Death Note," Raito said as he raised his hands in the air, palms facing upwards. He had a satisfied look on his face that made L want to break his nose. "I found her as a pile of dust and took the Note before the rest got there. They never knew, those idiots."

L had to clumsily shove his hands into his pant pockets in order to conceal the shaking. He so desperately wanted to wring his neck. It was progressively getting more difficult to control his anger, but he didn't want Raito to know this.

"The only one to finally get it was Aizawa. He was wary of me for a quite a while towards the end." He gave a short laugh. "I wonder what knocked him on the head. As for Matsuda, well . . . he really was a blind follower. But he drove me so insane that I would have liked to kill him if it wouldn't have cast suspicion on me." Suddenly, Raito stopped and looked at L with a ridiculously fake grin. Really . . . he wasn't even trying anymore. "You got me rambling. I've said more than I wanted to."

"I didn't get you to do anything, Raito-kun. But since you had the Shinigami take me out, that means you don't know my true name."

"Ah, good point. I don't suppose you'll tell me?"

L shook his head. "It's my turn to ask a question. Had you previously knows that I had you under surveillance in the very beginning?"

"Yes. I had a few traps set up at my door, so I knew something was wrong." He was talking almost monotonously, as if he was completely bored. "Ryuuk confirmed that there were cameras and bugs all throughout my room. Oh, excuse me," he added, a smirk gracing his lips once again. "You never met Ryuuk. He was the Shinigami who possessed my Death Note."

"Hmm, as I thought."

"What's that?"

"You're actions were too perfect, too innocent."

Raito shrugged. "It's not like that made me guilty of anything."

"Yes, but I still had my doubts about you. It wasn't 0 percent."

"Why are so obsessed with percentages?"

L looked upwards. "I'm not quite sure myself. I always have been. And I've never been satisfied unless the percentage was either 0 or 100. I'm sure you found that part of me very bothersome, especially since the chance of you being Kira constantly went up and down."

"Anyway," he said with irritation, looking L directly in the eyes, "what is your name?"

The detective only blinked in response.

"Well?"

"I was backtracking. You used up your question."

"You're counting that?" he bellowed.

"Yes."

One of his eyes twitched, and he said, "You're as impossible to deal with as ever. Even in death you annoy the hell out of me."

Ignoring his remarks, L asked, "Why did you allow your genuine emotions to surface as I was dying?"

"I won. I couldn't help it," he said as he massaged his temples.

"Raito-kun . . . you don't have a body. There's no need to act like you do."

"Oh, shut up, you demented freak."

He let himself smile. It was fun harassing Raito, and it was much too easy to do so. But he found it rather odd how he was constantly going from being completely irate to almost joyful in dealing with the former killer.

"Again . . . what is your name?" the auburn-haired man asked forcefully.

"L Lawliet." -2-

Narrowing his eyes, he said, "I'm serious."

"And so am I."

Silence followed.

"Your . . . real name is actually 'L'? What kind of idiot would . . . "

"Don't look at me like that, Raito-kun. I didn't name myself. Ah, there's something that has been bothering me for a while. Why did you act so differently during your imprisonment and the time while we were handcuffed together?"

He crossed his arms again and turned away from the detective, a look of utter tedium plastered onto his face. "I gave up ownership of the Note, so I lost all my memories of being Kira."

L blinked. "So then . . . I'm assuming that you regained those memories when we obtained the Death Note." He looked upwards and placed his thumb between his teeth pensively. "I distinctly remember that you screamed while holding the Note when we apprehended Higuchi. That must have been when you remembered being Kira. How interesting . . . "

The younger man peered at him from the corners of his eyes. "I'll never understand how you can infer such things from the little information that I give. The fact that you remembered—oh, wait. That was soon before your death, so it's fresh in your mind. For me, that's five years ago."

He didn't respond.

"Raaaaaaaaiiiitoooo!" came a sudden shout.

L sighed as he watched Misa run to them at full speed, knowing that this session of Q and A was over. There would be plenty of other chances, though. Plus, he knew it would be fun watching him deal with the obnoxious woman. Just the look on his face alone made him want to burst into a fit of laughter. He really needed a good laugh.

"Oh dear god . . . "

* * *

1- It was never said that L was an atheist, but I tend to think that he was one.

2- This information was stated in How To Read 13, and his last name is pronounced "law-light." (Some say it's "low-light" because of the katakana, but I know someone whose name starts with the "law" sound and it's written the same way as L's name in Japanese. Judging by the romanization, "law" fits better.)

I really wanted to end this chapter with Raito finding L, but I thought that'd be too clichéd. (I love writing cliffhangers, but that's going a little far.) So, instead, it ends on a rather amusing note. /smiles/ Misa and L have an odd conversation in the next chapter. I never really liked Misa, but she's kind of fun to write. (Oh, and I hope you enjoyed the pwnage, Dai-chan.)

Minna-san gokigenyou!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Just to say it now, this is _not_ a Misa/L fic. (I'm only saying this because of the conversation between the two that takes place in the beginning.) Actually, there won't be any pairings. Sorry to any who were hoping for Raito/L.

* * *

The wide-eyed man was having a rather enjoyable time watching Raito fend off the insane worshiper. It didn't seem to matter what names he called the girl; she just wouldn't let go.

"I missed you soooooo much!"

"Well, I didn't miss you! Get off of me, you whore!"

"Don't be so mean, Raito!"

"God damn it, Misa! I never loved you, and I never will! I only used you!"

She peered up at him with tears streaming down her cheeks. "W-what are you talking about?"

He rolled his eyes. "Right . . . you gave up your ownership, so you don't remember any of that."

"Any of what?" she asked frantically.

"You_ told_ me I could use you," he replied, seething. "Now _get off_."

With a look full of hurt and confusion, she finally obeyed, shrinking away from him like a dejected kitten.

Raito looked over at L and shouted, "Why are you still here? Is this_ entertaining_ for you?"

"Indeed."

Multiple veins could be seen protruding from his forehead.

"D-does Raito not want Misa around?" she asked timidly.

He shot her a death glare as a response.

"Ah, Raito-kun, you shouldn't act that way," L said as he walked over to the "couple." With a quirky smile on his lips, he continued with, "If Amane-san gave up her ownership, that means she has no memories of anything relating to the Death Note, correct? If so, then you really have no right to be angry with her."

"But didn't she annoy you, as well?"

"Yes."

"Then—you know what? Never mind. I don't have to put up with this. I'm above both of you," he said haughtily as he began walking away.

"But don't you want to know about the secret of this world, Raito-kun?" L called after him. He wasn't actually going to tell Kira about the hole, but he could at least bait him with the prospect of there being something quite interesting about the void. Seeing that Raito had stopped, he went on. "It's a taboo subject, but I managed to find out a good deal of information."

Without facing him, he asked, "Why are you telling me this?"

"Oh . . . no reason," he replied casually. And with that, L walked in the opposite direction. He wanted to let that sink in for a while.

Raito didn't follow, and not a word came from Misa. Once L was completely alone, he sat and began filing through his mind. What other sorts of questions did he want to ask Kira? There was still so much he didn't know. Well, he had eternity to get his answers.

"Ryuuzaki-san?"

He deflated at hearing her voice. _A higher being does not want me to think._

Misa sat beside him. "Can I ask you something?"

"I suppose," he said jadedly.

"Have you ever loved anyone?"

What an odd question. He definitely wasn't expecting something like that. But, then again, she always did have the kind of personality that made her do and say arbitrary things. He looked her straight in the eye and stated, "Not once."

"But why?"

He got the feeling she knew he was going to say that. "Love is an unnecessary emotion to me. I'm quite happy without it."

"You_ are_ or_ were_?"

"One can still love in this world, as you've proven, so that's why I spoke using present tense."

Misa looked up and became silent for a bit. Then she finally said, "I always thought you were a total weirdo, Ryuuzaki-san. You had strange habits and never stopped asking questions." She looked at him and smiled. For the first time since they met, she wasn't being frustrating. "But, you know what? I think you're a good guy . . . underneath all that weird stuff . . . and being a pervert."

He cocked his head slightly. "Why would you say something like that? I had put you through so much."

"Ah, well," she replied as she looked forward and closed her eyes, "I understand that you really wanted to catch Kira. You were just as stubborn as he was. Actually, you two seemed a lot alike, and since I love Kira, I guess that means I like you a _little_."

L didn't know what to say to that. He knew that he and Kira had quite a bit in common, minus the fact that one lacked a heart. But even with her memories gone, Misa loved both Kira and Raito, who were the same person without her knowing it. Although she was annoying, she wasn't fickle. He couldn't help but feel that was a redeeming quality about her, even if her love _was_ on the obsessive side.

Realizing that he was staring, he looked forward as well, but didn't say a word.

"But, Ryuuzaki-san, you're still a man."

"What about it?"

"Well . . . I mean, even if you never loved anyone, you had to've, um . . . " she trailed off.

He knew where she was going. It was a very strange conversation to be having with her, but he didn't see the harm in it. "Of course. I'm still human. Well, _was_ human."

"You weren't into voyeurism, though, were you?"

"No."

She breathed a sigh of relief.

"What was that for?" he asked, his eyes veering towards her.

Waving her arms in the air, she practically squealed, "You were handcuffed to Raito! It would've been so creepy if seeing us making out turned you on!"

_When did you two ever 'make out'?_ "It wouldn't have affected me in the least. I could have easily ignored it."

She gave him a dull look. "Maybe you _weren't_ human. Or . . . oh, god! Maybe you couldn't be turned on by a guy and a girl making out!" A look of horror came onto her face. "You didn't do kinky things with Raito, did you?" Misa shrieked.

He looked at her in silence for a moment, instantly remembering why he always found her irritating. Though, he wondered if it would be entertaining to go along with her assumption. "Oh, yes, it was a perfect way to get over boredom. I never would have guessed how flexible Raito-kun was," he said pensively.

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

He was quite sure he just went deaf in one ear, but it was well worth it. She looked completely traumatized.

"My Raito has been corrupted!"

"Hmm, it probably would have been better if you knew of his homosexual tendencies while you were alive."

Suddenly, she grabbed onto L's shirt and brought him close. "If you hadn't already been killed . . . " she growled out uncharacteristically.

_Do I have a sign above my head that states 'please rough me up'? People keep grabbing me . . . _ "Relax, Amane-san. I was only joking. I never did anything of the sort with Raito-kun."

"You're telling the truth?"

"Absolutely."

She immediately let the detective go and beamed at him. "Okay, then!"

"Yes, there were never any inappropriate actions between us. Though, sleeping was rather . . . interesting." Seeing her eyes narrow, he said, "I meant that the chain got us quite tangled up. I never really slept to begin with, so it didn't bother me as much as it bothered Raito-kun. He was a very grumpy individual when woken up in the middle of the night."

"Most people are, Ryuuzaki-san."

Changing the subject, he said, "I believe this is the longest conversation we've ever had."

"Probably." She stood and placed her hands on her hips. "Maybe Raito cooled down by now. I wanna try talking to him again."

"Talking to or clinging to?"

Misa only frowned down at him and stuck her tongue out playfully. Then she went skipping off into the darkness, shouting in a sing-song voice that she'd be seeing him again.

He stared after her in mild confusion, but then he quickly went back to "deep thinking" mode. L wanted to start planning his next meeting with Raito. It was surprisingly easy to stay in control, but he might not be so lucky again. He also wanted to have his questions in order, putting even the trivial ones toward the top of the list. Being who he was, he wanted to know everything.

But this thought process with interrupted by a sudden barrage of emotions. During the meeting itself, L had been teetering between fury and delight, but now he was annoyed with himself and disgusted. It was very unusual for him to be in such a state, but it wasn't that much of a jump from when he was facing Kira just a moment ago. He was still amazed that he actually kneed Raito. Even in death, he never thought he'd do something like that. But at the time, he couldn't stand the look on the younger man's face. He couldn't stand knowing that he was right all along and still had doubt in the back of his mind. He just couldn't stand how he didn't have the right evidence to convince those around him.

L wanted to rip his hair out the more he thought about it. Although, any sort of harm to himself could never satisfy the anger that was swirling dangerously within his soul. He had never been so furious with himself, since he always won the cases he chose to take on and was proficient in his work. The only piece of knowledge that could calm him down was that Raito was eventually caught. Justice _had_ prevailed. He simply wished he knew exactly how Kira had died. He wasn't even going to bother trying to get that information from the man himself. That would be far too damaging to what little pride Raito had left.

The one thing L wanted to know the most was what went on in Raito's mind as he killed those countless criminals, even innocent people. He never liked using the word "evil" to describe someone, though he knew evil people had existed in the world. When dealing with his cases, L preferred to refrain from using that term. He felt it brought out emotions that would only hinder the investigation.

Although . . . he had to admit to himself that Raito was indeed evil.

"Shit."

L nearly jumped.

"How often am I going to come across you?"

The detective looked to his side and found the very person of his thoughts standing there indignantly.

"This must be Hell. Ryuuk lied."

L remained silent, curious to see what Raito would do if he didn't shoot some witty comeback at him. And that curiosity was satisfied when he received a pair of narrowed eyes that were sending him tacit death threats.

"I'm not participating in another session of Q and A."

"That's fine."

He raised an eyebrow.

"What is it, Raito-kun?"

"I always thought you were too inquisitive for your own good. Maybe you have something else in mind."

His face held an expression that made L want to laugh, which was a refreshing change from wanting to bash his own head into the ground. Raito looked as if he was debating whether to stick around or make a run for it, flailing arms included. L simply had to grin as he pictured the sight.

"Oh, that's just great. You're _smiling_," Raito mumbled with a hint of dread.

L got up, that grin still in place, and walked over him. He stopped just short of running into the younger man and proceeded to stare right into his eyes, unblinking.

" . . . What are you doing?"

He said nothing.

"Hey!"

L continued to stare at him, his smile dissipating.

Raito grit his teeth and swung his left arm up to punch L in the side of the head, but he was blocked instantly. L still hadn't blinked. "Is this a staring contest?" he shouted.

"No."

"Then what the hell are you doing?"

"Waiting to see when you'll back away," L stated frankly.

He scowled and moved his face an inch or two closer. "You want to see how far you can push my pride."

"Correct."

"Well, you know what, L?"

"What?"

"Fuck you," he snarled, his face contorted into the epitome of hatred.

L blinked.

The auburn-haired man took a step back then walked passed him.

Looking upwards, the detective mulled over what just occurred. He definitely hadn't expected Raito to give a reaction like that. It hadn't quite hit him how much he was despised until that moment. But he simply couldn't leave at that. "Wait!" L cringed inwardly at how desperate that came out. Seeing that Raito wasn't halting, he realized he'd have to go to greater lengths. _This is bad. I'm letting him take control_, L thought with irritation. "Please stop, Kira!"

And he did so.

L imagined the bastard was smirking with the thought "he played right into my hands" going through his mind. He wanted to kick himself.

"Yes?" he called, his tone thick with arrogance.

After taking a deep, calming breath, the sable-haired man put his hands in his pockets and walked over to where Raito was standing, waiting for him. He felt as if he was saying "I give up, so torture me however you wish." Not being in control always made him rather anxious. He had to think of something fast.

Once L reached his side, he had to stamp down the feeling of nausea that was threatening to rise. It was impossible to describe the look on Raito's face. It was a very rare thing for L to be speechless, but the instant he saw that expression, all coherent words left him while screaming bloody murder. There was certainly no denying it now. Yagami Raito was an evil being.

"What is it, L?"

The way he spoke mixed with the look on his face made him want to shiver, but he wouldn't dare show such a weakness. "Can you explain to me why you killed all those people? I have a vague understanding, but I feel it would be wise if I knew the complete workings of your mind. That would make things easier for the both of us."

He then suddenly appeared bored and crossed his arms. Facing forward, with eyes closed, he said, "Is that all? Well, I really don't like repeating myself. Go find the little brat and ask him."

"Near? I suppose I could, but that would mean knowing every single detail about your death . . . right?" He was hoping to regain control undetected.

It worked.

Raito grimaced and opened his eyes. "I'd rather you hold off on that."

"I would imagine so, but why should I respect the wishes of Kira?"

He snorted and shot him another one of his venomous glares. "So you were merely trying to get on my good side before. Figures."

"Of course. You should know better, Raito-kun."

Raito groaned faintly and let his arms drop to his sides. "I have a bad feeling that this hatred I have for you will eventually wear down. An eternity of running into you is just too much. We're going to end up like a couple of old rivals who have nothing else better to do than have petty arguments."

"Like how senior citizens, who have known each other for decades, get together and drink tea while reminiscing," L stated matter-of-factly, a small grin playing on his lips as he thought about it.

The younger man shuddered slightly. "Please, no."

Dropping the subject, L sauntered to his opponent's front. "Assuming that we are stuck wearing whatever we died in, the only dignity you maintained while dying was being clad in a suit." _Of course, I'm assuming you didn't die a normal death, being who you were. I doubt you made it to jail._

"It's what I wore everyday, for the most part," he stated dryly.

"You became me in more than name."

He scrunched his nose in disgust. "At least I wore a _suit_. You had no sense of fashion and wore the same damned white shirt and blue jeans every single day. God, it was embarrassing being seen with you."

"Well, at least I didn't take half an hour getting ready in the morning. It wasn't like you were going out in public. We stayed indoors about 95 percent of time while being handcuffed to each other. Who were you 'looking pretty' for?"

"For the last time, it was a _habit_!"

"Hmm, maybe Amane-san picked up on something _you_ did and misinterpreted it," he mused. "You had peculiar routines." _Although, mine were far more eccentric. No . . . _are_ far more eccentric._

"What are you talking about?" Raito asked with growing frustration.

"We had an interesting chat earlier. She thought it was strange that I wouldn't be perturbed by seeing two people 'making out' and began accusing me of being homosexual."

Raito blinked a few times before chuckling softly to himself.

"I wouldn't be laughing if I were you. After all, who was chained to me for a long period of time?"

He ceased immediately, a look of terror flashing across his face. "You . . . weren't . . . were you?"

"Would it have been so terrible if I was?" L asked without hesitation. He knew he'd get an even better reaction out of him than from Misa.

"Uh . . . " He stepped out of character as his eyes widened and his mouth hung open. He looked to the side, probably not being able to look at L directly any longer. His discomfort with the topic at hand was exceedingly obvious.

"Let me ask you, Raito-kun, do you think I was?"

It was times like these that years of practice paid off. L was a pro at keeping his emotions from appearing on his visage. And because he looked dead serious, no pun intended, his questions had a powerful effect.

"Um, I— . . . Well, you— . . . " He shook his head and seemed to be thinking it over in his mind. "No," he said at last. "You probably had no interest in the ideas of sex or romance to begin with."

"Ah, good observation, Raito-kun," he said as if he were speaking to a 10-year-old.

With dull eyes and a barely visible vein jutting out from his forehead, he asked, "Why do you take pleasure in toying with me?"

"Why not?" he replied, shrugging. "Let's call it revenge."

"Let's call it immaturity," Raito spat back.

"If you wish to."

"Oh, dear god. We're already at that stage," he said in revulsion. "We're like the two elderly people sipping at tea, talking about the 'good old days'!"

L raised an eyebrow in mild confusion. "But we're not talking about that."

"But we're having petty arguments!" Raito turned around and began walking away briskly. "I have to put some distance between us before it gets worse."

The detective laughed under his breath. _Raito-kun looked so mortified._

"Where's he going?"

L, having heard the familiar sound of Mello's boots coming closer earlier, replied lethargically, "Off to do some thinking."

"I see. And how're the conversations going?"

"Well enough. It takes some getting used to, considering there's no point in holding back anymore."

"Too bad me and him never met in the living world." He smirked. "Would've been fun."

The detective shook his head, understanding what Mello meant by that.

Matt, who was standing behind the blonde, heaved a sigh and looked to the ground. Then he pushed his goggles onto his forehead, hopelessness clearly displayed on his features.

Mello's right eye twitched in response. "Damn it, Matt! Stop being so annoying! I understand that you're bored 'cause you miss your games, but just get over it already!"

"Oh, I have a question for you two," L said abruptly. "The clothes that you're wearing now, are they the ones you died in?"

The two nodded, but Mello looked off to the side and frowned.

"Why do you have that expression?" L asked.

"Nothing," he mumbled.

L continued to stare at him, waiting.

Eventually, Mello seemed to become frustrated, and he stuffed his hands in his coat pockets. "That's not exactly a time I like to think about," he said reluctantly. "I messed up and got myself killed, and Matt . . . "

"I was off being chased by men with guns."

"I said I was sorry!"

L stared at the quarreling boys with dull eyes. They always seemed to end up play fighting. _Well, there's no point in staying here. Maybe I should try finding Near to get the details on Raito-kun's death._

"Oh, crap! That's right!" Mello blurted out, ignoring his friend. "I think I saw Near!"

He perked up. "Really? I guess he didn't age all that much then for you to recognize him."

"Well, I _think_ it was him."

"Yeah, this guy freaked, grabbed me, and ran at top speed before we got a good look," Matt said as he jerked his thumb at the blonde.

"Shut up," he hissed.

"Ah, so it looked like Near from afar. I'd like to talk with him," L said, more to himself. He placed his thumb between his teeth as numerous questions whizzed through his mind. "Actually, I'd like to see Raito-kun's reaction to meeting with him."

"I'm kinda curious myself about how Kira died."

"Hey, there's a guy over there who's staring at us . . . and he looks kind of pissed," Matt stated casually.

L looked in the direction Matt was facing and stifled a laugh. "Really, now. This is overkill, isn't it?" He brought one hand up to his mouth, and shouted, "Raito-kun! I think you're problem is that you're thinking about me too much!"

"Now he looks even more pissed. . . . I really want a cigarette."

"God, Matt . . . "

Seeing Raito walk away, L decided to throw a taunt at him. "I guess you can't handle more of us, then!"

"You should know I'm not simple-minded!" he shouted back. "Those methods won't work on me!"

"Well, I was wondering how much death changed him," L said to himself, a quirky grin on his face.

"You really enjoy being around that guy, don't you?" Mello asked. "You seem pretty happy all of a sudden."

Without looking at him, he answered, "It's an easy way to get rid of boredom."

Mello shrugged. "Hey, Kira!" he yelled. "Wouldn't you like to get back at me for killing your father! Or maybe you really are just a heartless bastard!"

"Plus, you haven't met him yet!" L shouted.

" . . . Well, I have nothing to say," Matt said as he pulled his goggles over his eyes.

"I don't care what you think of me!" Raito bellowed. Then he stalked off, most likely mumbling curses at them.

L was amused. No doubt, Raito was thinking about L quite a bit, and that would only lead him to his fellow rival over and over again. The detective wasn't going to spell it out for him. He technically already stated the reason for this phenomenon, but Raito probably took it as an insult.

"Oh, hey, old man," the blonde said with a half wave.

L looked behind him and was shocked to see Watari standing there with that usual, kind smile aimed at him. The elderly gentleman bowed European style, not uttering a word.

"It's nice to see you again," L stated quietly. After Watari straightened up, he said, "Thank you for all that you've done for me."

He didn't need to say anything else, knowing that Watari understood perfectly. L couldn't have done much of anything without his help, and he was forever grateful to him. More than simply being his employee, he was his caretaker since childhood. When L was very young, he looked to Watari as someone like a father figure. He never told him this only because he knew it wasn't necessary. Watari knew him best, after all.

"I was happy to serve you," the elderly man responded.

L smiled warmly. A rush of pleasant memories came at him, but one stuck out among them all. It was of when he was around five or so. He couldn't recall exactly what had transpired, but he was crying in the corner of a large room, rubbing at his eyes fiercely in a vain attempt to stop the tears. One of the children had run out, most likely to find an adult to come take care of the situation. After sobbing for what seemed like hours, someone walked into the room and knelt down in front of him. He knew immediately that it was Watari. The gentleman possessed an aura that was very soothing, and when he had knelt down, L's heaving sobs immediately became less violent until he was merely sniffling.

"Let me see your face, L," he had said gently.

The child obeyed.

"Your eyes are terribly red. That won't do at all. Ah, I know what will make you feel better." Then he pulled something out from behind his back. It was a slice of strawberry shortcake. An oversized strawberry adorned the top, which was covered with a thick layer of whipped cream, and the sugary, red juice was being soaked up by the cake at the bottom.

L's face brightened the second he saw it.

"I've noticed that you have a liking for strawberries," Watari said with a tender smile, "so I figured you would like to try this."

He never asked L why he was crying and simply watched him inhale the dessert. Most likely, he felt that if L wanted him to know the cause of his unhappiness, he'd say it. But the cake made L forget why he was crying, and he gave Watari a huge grin after he finished, a smudge of whipped cream at the corner of his mouth. That was the first time of many times he'd eat strawberry shortcake.

L was brought out of his reminiscence when he caught Mello gawking in the corner of his eye. He supposed it must have been a bizarre sight, him smiling like that. He only recently started letting his true emotions show.

"Is there anything I can still do for you?"

"Ah, no. I'm fine, Watari. I know how to find you if I do happen to need any assistance."

"Then please don't hesitate to ask," Watari said as he bowed yet again. Afterwards, he turned to the boys, nodded his head, and walked away.

"Why did he leave so suddenly?" Matt asked.

"He had no reason to stay," L replied frankly.

"Yeah, the old man was always like that, right to the point and all."

L knew he would need Watari's aid at some point. He wasn't used to handling matters completely on his own. It wasn't that he was incapable. He simply liked the help, since it made things go a lot smoother. But he was going to go on alone as far as he possibly could when dealing with Raito. It would be much more fulfilling that way.

"I'm going to wander again," L said blandly as he turned away from the two.

"Have fun," Mello replied. "Tell Ki . . . "

But L was quickly lost in thought. _I wonder just how effortless it is to find the person you're thinking of. That criminal used the world "meditate," but I doubt Raito-kun is doing such a thing. Maybe it was an exaggeration._

The sable-haired man soon got his answer when he noticed Raito walking in deliberate circles not too far away, loosening his tie. He was apparently in deep thought, which L was thankful for. It made it incredibly easy to sneak up on him.

"Raito-kun!" L shouted, practically into the man's ear.

He started and looked at the detective with slightly widened eyes.

"Hi." -1-

And then his expression went dark.

"What's the matter?"

"Shut up. You're a sadist, you know that?"

L brought an index finger to his mouth, a look of pure innocence on his face. "I'm not causing you pain or humiliation."

"Must you always be so technical?"

"Yes."

Raito sighed in frustration, running a hand through his hair. "What do you want?"

"Nothing at all."

His left eye twitched noticeably. "You have no idea how much I wish to gouge out your eyes and shove them down your throat," Kira growled.

"Such violence, Raito-kun. I wonder what would happen if you actually did that," L mused, looking upwards in his usual fashion.

Lifting an arm slowly, the younger man said, "Care to see the result?"

"I'd rather not. If it can't be reversed, I'll be blind."

"So?"

L pouted. "You're cruel, Raito-kun." Of course, he was only acting. He merely wanted to see Raito's reaction. It was all about testing now, even more so than when they were alive.

"I'm Kira. What do you expect?" he asked bluntly. He lowered his arm and seemed to be thinking for a brief moment. Then he reached out and grabbed L's wrist, which was hanging at his side. Raito looked surprised, most likely due to the fact that the detective didn't bother to pull away in time. He quickly smeared that expression off his face and exchanged it for a wide smirk. Tightening his grip, he whispered, "I could always just break your arm instead."

Before L even had the chance to open his mouth, Raito twisted his forearm at the wrist with inhuman strength. It wasn't long until a snap was heard, and L sucked in a breath when the pain hit him. It was more than he thought it would be, but he knew it would pass soon enough. The only reason he let Raito grab onto him and take control of the situation with such ease was to let him get some pleasure out of the way. He figured that once the young man caused him some form of excruciating pain, he'd be more willing to cooperate. Raito obviously loathed him, and that was an emotion he needed to get over. L wasn't a fan of his either, but he was doing all he could to keep himself in check. Raito didn't even seem to be trying. Hopefully, he would calm down after this.

After the snap occurred, the auburn-haired man simply looked as if he had gone insane. He snickered, pulled L towards him slightly by his broken arm, and stared into his rival's eyes with intense satisfaction. "How does it feel?" he whispered.

_He even sounds disturbed_, L thought dryly. He waited until he felt the inevitable. Once his broken bone moved back into place, he stated calmly, "It was more painful than I imagined it would be, but that's only because I've never broken anything major before."

"'Was'?"

"I've healed already."

Giving him a look of skepticism, he shook L's arm rather violently. "What the hell?"

After Raito's grip had loosened, L slid his wrist out from his hand. While rubbing the abused forearm, he explained, "When I was experimenting with pain earlier, I broke one of my fingers to see what would happen. Shortly after doing so, the bone healed itself. Of course, pain is a part of the deal."

"You broke your own finger as an experiment?" He appeared to be somewhat disgusted. "What would you have done if it didn't heal?"

"I was willing to take that risk." _But I definitely wasn't when it came to my eyes._

"You're a fool."

"I'm quite sure you've always thought that, Raito-kun," he replied as he put his hands into his pockets.

"Only some of the time. In fact, I—" Raito suddenly looked panicked, his eyes darting away from L's.

The detective was intrigued. "Go on," he prodded.

"Never mind. Forget I said anything." The man proceeded to walk away, but L called to him. "What?" he barked.

"In fact, you admired me . . . right?" -2-

"Pfft, sure I did, L."

"To be perfectly honest, I admired you also. Actually, I still do, regardless of knowing that you're Kira."

Raito peered over his shoulder. "Why?"

"Why do I admire you? It's simple. I've never met anyone who was on the same level as me. I've never had such a challenge in my entire life. As frustrating as our cat and mouse game was, it was quite the thrill. I just wish the ending was different, of course."

He turned around to face him and said, "Why are you telling me this? I know you have a sense of pride, just as I do."

"You are correct, but I want everything out in the open. It's easier that way, don't you agree?"

"I suppose." Raito went silent, looking to the ground. Then he finally stated, "But I refuse to give you any details about my death."

"Because it was so pitiful, 'God'?"

Raito's eyes widened, and L looked in the direction the voice came from. A tall, dark-haired man stood there, and he didn't look to be in the best of moods.

"Mikami . . . " Kira murmured, his eyes becoming thin slits.

* * *

1- This is a reference to episode 15 of the anime where Raito finds L sitting on a bench. When L sees him, he smiles widely, waves, and shouts, "Yagami-kun!" Then his smile disappears immediately, and he gives a monotonous "konnichiwa."

2- This idea comes from chapter 101. Raito made a comment to himself that Near wasn't fit to wear L's mask because he was inferior. I can't remember if he said anything about admiring/respecting L elsewhere.

I debated about having Raito say that "eff you" line, but I finally decided to leave it. I think at that point, knowing that he'd have to deal with L from then on, he'd rather get straight to the point. Anyway, I had planned from the beginning to bring in a lot of cast. They'll all serve a purpose, though. It won't just be for entertainment value. (But it sure is fun to write.) And can anyone guess what Mikami's purpose is? -snickers-

Minna-san gokigenyou.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Sorry it took me a while. I don't really have an excuse since I have a lot of time on my hands now. Eheheh . . . Oh, and the POV changes at one point. I put a scene break in to make it obvious.

* * *

L cocked his head. _Could this perhaps be more entertainment?_ Kira and "Mikami" were glaring at each other in such a way that would usually make a third party extremely uncomfortable, but L was far from that. He stood there with his hands in his pockets, almost giddy, as he watched this "Mikami" person walk towards Kira and punch him in the face. Kira's reaction was even more enjoyable.

"How_dare_ you!" he shouted as he grabbed the dark-haired man by the collar. "It was all your fault! If you hadn't been so_stupid_ and taken the Death Note out, I wouldn't have been caught!"

"You can't pin it all on me! How could you allow yourself to get caught? I thought you were God! You were nothing but a pathetic human like the rest of the lot!"

"You were not worthy to be Kira!" the auburn-haired man yelled as he punched Mikami in the stomach.

L actually stood up a bit straighter at hearing that. "This man was the fourth Kira?"

"Yes, but there were five," he answered before he could stop himself.

"Five? My, Raito-kun was busy."

"Oh, shut up."

The wide-eyed man strolled over to Mikami, who was coughing lightly from the blow that was dealt to his abdomen. Tilting his head again, he asked, "Why did you refer to Raito-kun as 'God' earlier?"

"I was mocking him!" he shouted. "I _used to_ call him that." Then he shot Kira another glare. "That was before I found out how pitiable he is."

L's face lit up.

"Why are you looking at him as if he were a giant, glazed donut?" Kira asked dryly.

"Because it appears that I don't have to find Near, after all." It was hard keeping the joy out of his tone. "I can find out how you died by asking this man."

"And just who are _you_?" Mikami asked with a snarl.

"I am L."

The dark-haired man appeared to be confused, but his eyes soon expanded and he yelled, "I remember hearing about you! You were the one who figured out Kira was in Japan!"

"Well, I did more than that, but alright."

"You were Kira's enemy, though!"

"I still am, but it will die down soon enough."

Kira scowled.

Taking a glance at the auburn-haired man, L noticed that something was different. His facial features seemed to have hardened, making him appear slightly older. His jaw was clenched, and his eyes held a murkiness that he'd never seen in his rival before. L wondered if Mikami's presence caused this change. It was as if Yagami Raito had _transformed into_ Kira. Perhaps the man felt he needed to keep up a certain image when with his followers. Well, Mikami was apparently an _ex_-follower, so that couldn't be the case. Instead of going through the list of possibilities, L figured he should simply ask. He wasn't in the mood to dissect and analyze the brain of Kira.

"You seem to be on edge, Raito-kun," L said casually. "Any particular reason for that?"

"Shut up," he growled, his gaze focused on Mikami.

L walked over to him, his curiosity escalating. Once he was a few feet away from Kira, he hunched over more and looked up at him, an index finger at his mouth.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Raito-kun is quite menacing from this angle," the sable-haired man stated frankly.

Kira's head snapped down in an instant, and he grabbed a handful of L's white shirt, bringing their faces close. "Do you want me to snap your neck?" he whispered. "I will keep snapping it until you let me be, do you understand? Do _not_ get involved. You know I have a creative imagination when it comes to death, and since you're already dead, I can cause you a wide variety of pain without ever ceasing. Something like 'a loss of consciousness' can't get in the way."

L stared at him blankly. "Are you done?" he asked in an equally quiet tone.

"Are you mocking me?" Kira practically shrieked.

"Yes," L replied, nodding his head once for emphasis.

Kira's eyes widened with fury, and he seemed to be searching for the correct words to spew out. Then he finally said, barely keeping his voice from cracking, "I think my hatred for you won't disappear for quite a while."

"Don't speak in terms of time. I know it's rather difficult, but please try."

At that, Kira pushed L away from him, preparing to strike the irritating man in the face. But L easily dodged the punch and shot the heel of his palm up into Kira's nose, successfully breaking it. He stumbled back, a hand over his face.

"You two are close," Mikami commented in a somewhat daze.

L kept his eyes on his opponent and asked, "Really? How can you tell?"

"Shut the hell up!" Kira bellowed. He brought his hand down and looked at it with confusion.

"You're surprised that there's no blood? Well, we're not in bodies. As for why we can feel pain, I still have to investigate that issue."

Kira flinched as a soft pop was heard.

"It's rather uncomfortable, isn't it?" L asked. "We should just be grateful that any damage we receive is not permanent." Then, promptly ignoring the irate "god," he turned to Mikami. "I have many questions for you. And before you ask why you should tell me anything, just think of the humiliation he will feel. The one thing he is trying to prevent is my finding out the details of his death." A corner of his mouth turned upwards very slightly. It was too difficult to keep the smirk off his face. "I am sure you would enjoy that, right?"

Mikami blinked a few times. "You are as good as they said. It's rather impressive that you can read me with such ease."

"A_five-year-old_ could see right through you," Kira scoffed.

"Pay him no mind," the detective said with a wave of his hand. "Now, tell me . . . how did Yagami Raito die?"

"L! You know I won't let him talk!"

The sable-haired man rolled his eyes. "Even if we were to leave, you would eventually find us. I'm not the kind of person to do something so futile." Sensing him walk closer, he added, "If you try to hit me, you know it will only start a never-ending battle between us. Why even bother, Raito-kun?"

"Stop calling me that!"

"Really, you're sounding like a child."

"And yet you've admitted to being immature!"

"More or less."

"Then don't complain about me 'sounding like a child'!"

"I wasn't complaining."

"The Shinigami wrote his name down in the Death Note," Mikami blurted out.

L stared, his eyes slightly wider than usual. "And why did the Shinigami do that?" he asked slowly.

"Mikami!"

Kira's shout sounded rather desperate, and he advanced toward his former lackey, but L easily intercepted him. He was _going_ to get answers, and even a hell-bent Kira couldn't stop him. Holding the enraged and frantic man back, L nodded at Mikami, eager for him to answer the question.

A crazed smirk developed on Mikami's face. After licking his lips, he said, "Kira was shot after attempting to write down the white-haired brat's name on a scrap of Death Note paper. Then he soon became mentally unstable and was writhing on the floor, calling for help to one who wasn't present and to one who was dead. He also called to me, but I considered him utter trash by that point." He narrowed his eyes at Kira. "He wasn't 'God.' He was a pathetic human not even worthy enough to breathe."

"You bastard!" Kira roared as he attempted to get past L.

The detective was expecting such a reaction, so he was able to hold him back. Though, one thing _really_ set Kira off.

"Mikami-san . . . who shot at him?"

"I can't remember his name. A black-haired policeman who seemed to be close with that fake."

L turned his head slightly to look at the struggling man behind him, and with a small grin on his face, he said, "Matsuda-san shot you? How ironic."

That was it. Kira snapped. Instead of going for Mikami, the original source of his outrage, he swung at L. The sable-haired man was caught off guard when he let Kira go. He was expecting him to beat Mikami. The only reason he loosened his grip on the man was because he had gotten all the information he wanted out of the fourth Kira. He didn't actually care about his safety. But when he felt knuckles dig into the flesh of his cheek, he realized what a huge error he made.

Kira was more furious at L than Mikami for reasons unknown to him. He understood the relationship between the two Kiras from their argument, and he came to the conclusion that Mikami evoked more rage. After all, he led to the original Kira's demise. Perhaps Near had the top spot, but he wasn't there to take the beating.

What L had to do was stop looking at the man as "Raito-kun" and start looking at him as a serial killer. . . . When did he ever stop seeing him as one? Death must have screwed with his mind a little too much.

_Ah, what am I thinking? I have to focus on defending myself._ And with that, L blocked the punch that was aimed for his gut, swung around agilely, and struck his rival on the back of the neck with the side of his open hand. That would usually knock a person out, but those rules did not apply here. Instead, the younger man stumbled forward and audibly sucked in a breath. Before he could face L again, the detective kicked out both of knees with amazing speed, and Kira crumpled to the ground.

As L rubbed at his throbbing stomach from an earlier hit, he stated calmly, "You have much pent up anger towards me, Raito-kun. No, 'Kira' would be more appropriate. You are presently not Raito-kun."

The auburn-haired man stood up quickly and glowered, seemingly trying to set L's unkempt hair on fire just by looking at him.

"Well, I think I've done enough," Mikami said complacently.

L watched the fourth Kira walk away, knowing that he'd be seeing him again at some point. Though, he would only investigate further if something else arose. Perhaps there was a detail that was skipped over, one that could make L's stay in the void more amusing. He would find out eventually.

"Ah, even with Mikami-san gone, you are Kira."

"Why are talking like an idiot? I was Kira from the very day you met me, excluding the period of time when I had lost my memories."

"I am referring to my earlier observation. You are not Raito-kun."

Kira placed his hands on his hips and slowly raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying I have a split personality?"

"Not quite."

L didn't continue. He wanted to see what could snap the younger man back into being Yagami Raito, the very slightly less egotistical and violent being. Maybe talking too much would only be like poking an irritated hound with a sharp stick.

Then the moment came. Kira sighed, lowered his head, and ran a hand through his auburn locks. Yagami Raito had returned. The hand stopped when it reached the crown of his head, and he asked quietly, all traces of anger nonexistent, "It never ends, does it? Even now you analyze me."

"I am a detective, Raito-kun. It's what I do."

His arm fell to his side as a tiny snicker escaped his mouth. Looking up, he said dryly, "You _were_ a detective."

"No, I will always be one. It is simply who I am. The only difference now is that I don't have nearly the same amount of manpower as I did when I was among the living," L said frankly.

"Uh-huh," came the sarcastic reply.

The older man was very curious about the sudden change in Raito's behavior. L knew he didn't have a personality disorder since he would have seen signs of one when they were alive, so what was the reason for the drastic transformation? Raito went from being maniacal to being sapped of all his energy.

"Why are you staring at me?" he asked jadedly, a trace of suspicion present in his voice.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was merely thinking without realizing where I was looking," L answered simply.

"It's not like you to zone out." He gave a short, dry laugh. "Just the same, you are never so unguarded. What was that before?" Raito took a few steps towards him. His eyes were starting to regain the spark that L recognized instantly. The younger man was eager to get information, his interest completely heightened. "That didn't seem like another game. Comparing your demeanor of the time when I broke your arm to when I was beating you, I can tell that you were in control of the former situation." He let an unsettling grin work its way onto his face. "It's the gift of hindsight."

"I understand what you're talking about, Raito-kun. There's no need to spell it out for me. And to answer your question, I was lost in thought. It was careless of me, but I'm not quite myself, you know."

"Was that an attempt at humor?" he asked wryly.

"But it's true. I don't have a body."

Raito sighed and shook his head, that grin still in place. "I suppose I shouldn't complain. There will never be a dull moment with you around, even though you annoy the hell out of me."

"Not always."

"Hmm?"

L put an index finger in the air and stated, "I know there were times when you enjoyed my company. Don't deny it, Raito-kun."

He only stared at the wide-eyed man dully, no longer smirking.

Putting his hands in his pockets, L sauntered over to Raito. He wondered if the young psychopath would, in fact, admit it. "It was the same for myself. There were very few people who could challenge me. The constant game we played was rather thrilling, was it not?"

Surprisingly, Raito didn't hesitate in answering. "Yes. If we had met under different circumstances, we probably would have become friends."

L was taken aback by that comment. He couldn't believe how honest Raito seemed. When L said that Raito was his first friend, it was just another addition to his mind games with the teen. But, thinking back on it, he realized that there was a tiny hope that they really could be friends. If Raito was proven to not be Kira, and the real one was captured, then he most definitely wouldn't have had a problem with continuing their relationship in an amicable way. Well, technically, that _had_ happened. They caught Higuchi, proving that Raito was innocent. But, of course, the whole truth wasn't uncovered at the time.

He really did wonder how Raito would have turned out if not for the Death Note. Comparing the Raito without his memories to the one with his memories, there was a distinct difference. One believed that Kira's actions were wrong. The Death Note wasn't simply a horrible weapon for genocide; it was a weapon for corrupting the soul of its owner.

"Too bad . . . " L murmured.

"What was that?"

"I was just thinking it was too bad that you came upon the Death Note. You probably would have grown into a nice, stable young man. Though," he added with his quirky smile, "I'm sure that sour personality would never have completely vanished."

"If I had the energy, I'd tell you off for that comment."

L cocked his head slightly.

"I can't be bothered. I don't mean that I'm literally exhausted."

"So_ that's_ why you're being so civil."

"You should just hope that an idiot doesn't show up again," he mumbled as he began massaging his left temple.

L kept his mouth shut and pretended he didn't hear that. He realized he could be reading into it, but he always overanalyzed people. Raito's statement could be taken simply as is or it could mean that he didn't look at L as an idiot and wasn't particularly minding his presence. The sable-haired man wasn't exactly sure how Raito felt about him. He knew that, in general, Raito found him to be a nuisance, but he wasn't sure when it came to situations like these.

There was a laid back atmosphere surrounding them. Raito was being strangely quiet, most likely in his own little world. There had been times like this before when they were alive. L was never really around people beforehand, so it was all very new to him. Though, when it was just the two of them, and they were taking one of their extremely rare breaks in investigating the Yotsuba group, L felt considerably relaxed. He and Raito would talk about normal, trivial things. He always wondered if that was what it was like to have a friend.

Sitting down slowly and closing his eyes, L decided to enjoy the moment. He knew it wouldn't happen that often, so why ruin it by talking? And as entertaining as Raito was, them getting along was a refreshing change.

"You look . . . comfortable," the auburn-haired man stated.

"Mmm," was L's response. He didn't open his eyes or move at all. Keeping the peace was his top priority.

The detective could hear Raito walk over, and he sensed the younger man kneel in front of him. _What is he doing? Don't stir things up, Raito-kun._

"You're certainly taking a risk here, letting your guard down like that," he said frankly.

"It's relaxing."

"What is?"

"This."

There was a short silence before Raito asked, clearly frustrated, "What are you talking about?"

L cracked an eye open. "You ruined it."

"Ruined_what_?" he shouted.

"We were having a peaceful moment." He opened both eyes to their natural extent and brought his thumb up to his mouth. "But now you're back to being aggravated. You'll probably want to start a fight with me now for whatever reason."

The younger man raised an eyebrow. "A 'peaceful moment'? You mean when neither of us were speaking?"

L nodded.

"So, in other words, you're saying that you prefer me to shut up."

_Raito-kun is only getting angrier now. Oh, well. It was nice while it lasted. He _is_ Kira, after all. We can't be friends._

"Hey!"

Sighing, he put his hand down and said, "No, that's not what I meant, Raito-kun. You were calm. You're rather tiring to deal with when you're screeching or acting like a psychopath."

He looked as though he choked on his own saliva. "I do _not_ 'screech'!" Raito stood, infuriated. "And I am not a 'psychopath.' I was only trying to rid the world of the filth that was dragging it down. I was delivering justice that the law had failed to give! I was God, smiting evil with one hand and giving hope to the innocent with the other!"

L rolled his eyes at Raito's dramatic mini-speech and stood. He really didn't feel like angering him further, but he couldn't be silent after hearing such nonsense. "Raito-kun . . . you were a bored teenager with a peculiar sense of justice and a god complex. That's all. Yes, you were brilliant, a true rival for myself, but that didn't mean you had the authority to take the lives of human beings. Raito-kun," he said gravely, "you were a serial killer."

The young man had his fists shaking at his sides, but his face was completely blank. It was as though he was trying to hold his fury back. "L . . . I want you to answer me honestly." His voice was steady. "What would you have done if you had found the Death Note in my place?"

L looked upwards in thought, bringing an index finger to his mouth. Then he replied slowly, "I would test it out first and after getting past the initial shock, I would exterminate the most evil of men." His eyes rolled down to meet Raito's. "Immediately after that, I would burn it."

He crossed his arms, looking somewhat pleased with the answer. "And who do you consider to be 'the most evil of men'? I'm very curious."

"Saddam Hussein, Kim Jong Il, dictators to that extreme. I do not feel it is my right to judge those who you killed off, especially since some of them were guiltless." -1-

"Well, your methods weren't exactly legal, you know. Doesn't that make you a hypocrite?" he asked disdainfully.

"I never killed anyone, Raito-kun," L said, fairly startled. "But I do admit that the way I went about getting information wasn't . . . socially acceptable."

"It had nothing to do with social norms. You broke the law, and you broke it countless times."

The detective looked at Raito dully as if to say "you've got to be kidding me."

"I didn't break any laws, L," he said in a challenging tone.

"Because you felt you were above them, correct?"

Raito didn't answer. He merely narrowed his eyes.

_So he's decided to be quiet when I mock him instead of yelling and swinging at me_, L thought, amused. "Well," he said as he put his hands into his pant pockets, "at least we can converse as normal people do."

"I don't want to be considered 'normal,'" Raito stated with disgust.

"Neither do I. It was just an observation."

The auburn-haired man gave a quick "hmph" and walked away.

L grinned slightly. _Now look who's being immature, Raito-kun._

Suddenly, Raito halted and then stumbled back. "L! Get over here now!"

He nearly jumped at the man's tone, a mixture of panic and confusion. L walked hurriedly to where Raito was and found him staring at the ground in front of his feet. Then he understood.

There was a hole, about five feet in diameter, emitting heat and an ominous aura. Taking a closer look, the detective saw an indigo hue swirling around as if someone had made a huge concoction of thick, black liquid, poured indigo dye into it, and began mixing it slowly. Why the hole was giving off heat, he had no clue, but he was definitely sure of what it was he was standing in front of.

_This is bad_, L thought as he glanced at his adversary. He _could_ feign ignorance, but what would he do if Raito remembered that comment he made earlier about there being a secret in this void? L wouldn't be surprised if he made the connection.

"Does this _thing_ have to do with that 'taboo' subject you spoke of?" Raito asked with a hint of urgency in his voice.

_Damn it_.

If L lied and said he wasn't sure, he would have to face Kira's wrath later on. The man was sure to find out the truth at some point. He could easily go around and ask about it. Raito would find some pretty girl, trigger that disgustingly fake charm of his, and flirt the information out of her. He'd probably have even better luck with a less attractive woman, someone who's not used to the attention.

L knew that the majority of the people he spoke to were simply trying to brush him off. Judging by the looks on their faces, they knew full well what L was asking about. They just didn't want to talk about it. He could understand why something that held such power would be considered taboo by most, but why were so many unwilling to give even the smallest bit of info? It frazzled him till no end.

But with Raito's good looks and "heart-warming smile," he wouldn't come across this problem. L's appearances were odd, probably made him look devious. Many people were shallow and even those who tried their best to crush such thoughts in the living world had no reason to do such in the "afterlife." There were no social rules to adhere to.

Now, back to problem at hand. What would be the consequences if L told the truth? Raito going on a power hungry acid trip? There was no doubt in L's mind that Raito would be ecstatic. This hole could be used as a pseudo Death Note, controlling the people of this world to do his bidding. Well, it would be more along the lines of eradicating the evil souls. But how would he know who was evil? L was sure he'd find a way. Raito was a determined individual with quite a nasty streak. Yes, he would definitely find a way. L could imagine him nearly drooling at just the thought of being able to return to his "mission."

So . . . what was his response?

"Well, now. Look what we found, Matt."

L almost sighed in relief. He turned around and saw his two protégés, one appearing rather smug and the other looking bored out of his mind. If he believed in God, he would be thanking Him a hundred times over.

"Oh, wonderful." Raito did not sound pleased.

Walking over to them, L said, "You're just in time. Raito-kun and I found a very strange hole. It looks dangerous." He eyed Mello to remind him that he was _not_ to speak the truth.

Thankfully, Mello got the hint. "Really? Wonder what it is." With his hands placed on his hips, he walked over to where Raito was standing and looked down. "Geez, that's hot!" he yelled as he shot backwards. Then he faced Raito and crossed his arms, staring him down.

"What?" the auburn-haired man asked curtly.

"Seeing you up close . . . Yeah, definitely." He nodded his head for emphasis, one eye slightly wider than the other.

"What?" Raito shouted.

"You look too much like a pansy ass to be Kira."

L had to chuckle slightly at that. Not only was it a nice change for someone to ridicule the man's good looks, but it was also rather ironic. Maybe not the present Mello but the Mello he remembered was mistaken for a girl most of the time. He didn't exactly look like someone who could take over the name of "L."

Raito's whole body twitched, and he took a step towards the blonde.

Mello snickered and walked away from the fuming killer. "Don't even think about it," he stated, jerking a thumb at the hole.

"Well, I _am_ curious as to what would happen if someone went down there." His voice was very hoarse, most likely because he was trying to restrain himself. "Do any of you know what that thing is?"

"What makes you think we do?" L spoke up.

"I am just _asking_!"

"We don't know any more than you, pansy."

Raito's eyes were on fire, and he lunged for the loud-mouthed teen. But he didn't get to lay a hand on him, for the other teen shoved him roughly, making him nearly lose his balance. After stumbling a bit, he glared at the odd redhead.

"You didn't have to do that, you know," Mello said with a hint of annoyance. "I can take him on."

Matt didn't reply.

"Who the hell are you?" Raito growled out.

The boy stated his name monotonously as he adjusted the goggles on his face.

"_And_?"

"He was third in line to be my successor," L stated calmly.

Raito shot the detective a skeptical look. "That kid?"

"Yes."

He gave a slight shrug. "Well, no worse than Near."

"L," Matt said abruptly, "have you come across anyone with a cigarette and a lighter?"

The blonde rolled his eyes dramatically.

"No. I don't think you'll ever get to smoke again, Matt. And I doubt you'll find any hand-held games here as well. I'm sorry, but you'll just have to find another source of entertainment."

Then L caught a strange look on Raito's face from the corner of his eye. It was too brief for him analyze, but it left him with a rather uneasy sensation.

"Since you three are useless, I'm leaving," Raito said indignantly. As he walked past the two teenagers, his head turned slightly.

Something really didn't feel right.

"Feh," Mello spat after the auburn-haired man was no longer visible. "What the hell is he up to? That bastard . . . "

"You noticed as well?" L asked.

"Of course." He almost seemed hurt by the question. It was like a tiny dent in his pride. "I _was_ one of your possible successors."

"So I guess I'm the stupid one then," Matt stated nonchalantly.

The blonde's eyes dulled. "No, you just don't pay attention. You're going through something similar to withdrawal since you don't have your stupid cigarettes."

"But that's impossible. There is a severe lack of flesh and blood," L said, an index finger in the air and his eyes wider than usual.

Mello only stared at him before muttering something about weird, sugar-obsessed detectives. "C'mon, Matt. I don't like being around that thing. It kinda gives me the creeps."

As the two walked off, L's mind began working as fast as it possibly could. What was Raito thinking? Was he after Mello for whatever reason? Or was it Ma—

"Shit!" he uncharacteristically blurted out. His head whipped around, but the teens were long gone. He'd have to think about the boy hard enough until he ran into him, before it was too late.

--

Raito was definitely not an idiot, and he picked up on the fact that whenever he thought about L long enough, he ended up finding the lanky man . . . not that he was _looking_ for him. So he knew just how to "bump into" that red-headed kid. The problem was separating him from the obnoxious one. He could easily tell the two stuck together, the redhead being the follower. Maybe if he tailed the brats for a while and caught them in a crowd . . . Well, that was a little clichéd, but he really didn't care at the moment.

He could very well find a woman and easily get some information out of her, but he wanted to give his pride a little boost by getting the facts from L or one of L's protégés. The bug-eyed freak was out of the question now, though. He knew that even if the teenagers hadn't shown up, L wouldn't have said anything helpful.

_Ah, there they are_, Raito thought with growing delight.

Mello was talking with a few elderly people while his friend merely stood there. He could even see him taking deep sighs, his chest puffing out excessively and then deflating. If only there were more people around . . .

Suddenly, an elderly man pointed to a rather large group of people walking some distance away. Mello nodded, waved curtly, and went over towards the said group. The redhead followed without hesitation.

_Perfect._

It didn't take long before the teens reached their destination and began weaving their way into the crowd. Raito discretely walked up to a middle-aged man among the group and started chatting with him idly. He was good at small talk and could keep it up longer than most people even wanted to. But once he saw the redhead on the outskirts, he politely excused himself and walked over to his target.

"It's 'Matt,' right?"

The boy's head snapped almost violently in his direction. It was hard to tell with the goggles on, but it appeared as though he was narrowing his eyes.

Raito put his hands up defensively. "Relax. I don't mean you any harm. Or Mello," he added as an afterthought. The redhead seemed to genuinely care for his friend's well-being.

"Then what do you want?"

"I saw a similarity between us," he said through an affable smile.

Matt stared and went back to being reticent.

The smile still plastered on his face, Raito continued with, "You're incredibly bored here, and so am I."

The teenager merely looked off into the crowd and said, "I thought you're supposed to be a genius."

"What?"

"Anyone can see that I'm bored, and I'm sure that most people are in this place since there's nothing to do."

It took all Raito had not to twitch. The redhead sounded too much like L, calm and straight to the point. It grated his nerves. "Yes, that's true." But thank god he was a master at hiding his emotions. Though, he had been slipping a lot lately. It was probably the effects of the "afterlife" working on him. "Did you play games often when you were alive?"

"Yeah."

"Then we really are alike."

"Because I'm a gamer who has no games to play, and you're a murderer who has no one to kill?" Matt asked bluntly.

A crack formed in his smile. "Well, that's a little crude . . . but, essentially, yes. I'm willing to admit that killing gave me somewhat of a buzz. Killing criminals, of course."

"Right . . . of course," Matt added flatly.

_This is going to be harder than I thought._

"I'm gonna go now."

_Shit. This chance is too perfect to screw up._ "Wait, Matt. I have a question for you."

The boy sighed a bit and asked what it was.

"You're very close with Mello, aren't you?"

"Yeah. We pretty much grew up together."

"So it's like you're brothers then."

Matt shrugged. "I guess. We don't have anyone else."

"Not even L?"

The current subject seemed to be the right one to make him talk. He shook his head and stated, "I hardly knew the guy, and Mello just admired him. It wasn't like any of us had long conversations with L."

"No? I thought that Mello and Near would have at least been somewhat close to him. I mean, they were his top two possible successors."

Raito actually didn't have to fake his interest. He always wondered about L's past and what exactly children at Wammy's House did. So even though this was just a way of distracting the teenager from his true goal, he was still getting valuable information. If he could obtain something to use against L . . . That was asking for too much at once, wasn't it?

"I dunno. I heard that L wasn't the social type. He only talked to people if there was a reason to. When Mello was really young, he once asked L about the weather. Y'know, small talk. Instead, Mello got a lecture about the different kinds of clouds and the levels of the atmosphere. The only kind of trivial thing you could talk about with the guy was anything to do with sweets. Well, that's just what I heard."

He chuckled a bit. "So he was a sugar disposal right from the start."

"All of us from the orphanage have our quirks. Normal people say it's because we're so smart that we act like that. I think that's really just a stereotype. People with average IQs are pretty weird, too."

Raito nodded in agreement. _This is way too easy._

"Did people stereotype you?"

"Yeah. They thought I knew the answer to everything. Most of the questions they had for me, though, were about things I really was well versed in. It never bothered me."

Matt looked at him dully. "You enjoyed it, didn't you? You probably acted modest, but in truth, you loved the attention and envy you received from others."

He couldn't help but smirk. "I'm beginning to understand why you were third in line."

The redhead buried his hands into his pockets and looked at the crowd. It seemed as though he was searching for something, or someone. Maybe his attention span had reached its limit.

_Time to make the shift._ "Hey, you looked rather unfazed by that hole in the ground back there. I figure that since you're so bored you must be at least a _little_ interested in it. Or maybe you really aren't that bored." _Now let's see just how smart you are_, Raito thought as watched Matt's reaction.

"I am, but it was just a hole in the ground. What's so exciting about that?"

Raito was slightly impressed. The boy managed to deflect that tactic. He'd have to refine it to get his answers. "Well, yes, that's true. But why is it emitting heat, and what purpose does it serve? I found L's reaction to the hole slightly bizarre."

"Why?" Matt asked as he glanced at him.

"He seemed edgy and hesitant, which is very unlike him. It makes me think that he knows something." Raito slowly narrowed his eyes for effect. "I don't understand why L couldn't just tell me. It's not like I could do anything harmful with that knowledge."

"You don't know that," the teen said abruptly.

Raito's eyebrows shot up in surprise, but he was sniggering in his mind. Just a little more. "Yes, I don't, but I doubt a hole can be so threatening."

"Just how bored are you?"

He shrugged slightly. "Enough that I actually don't mind talking with L to a certain extent. I have nothing else better to do."

He wasn't sure if Matt would be able to see through his lie or not. There were certainly other people he could talk to, and he could even learn some of history's secrets. It sure beat conversing with an obnoxious detective who had come very close to outwitting him while they were alive.

"Yeah, it must suck having to constantly be around your enemy. I have a different nuisance. I'm not annoyed with what or who is around me; I'm annoyed with what I'm lacking."

"Either way, we can empathize with each other," Raito pointed out.

"I . . . guess."

"But, you know, L might be wrong. Some people might have been able to take material things with them to the 'afterlife.' You should look into it yourself."

"I think I will," Matt said as he tilted his head upwards. "You should look into the deal with that hole, too."

"Hmm, asking L again would be pointless," he said pensively. _Will he take it?_

"Someone's bound to know something about it. You just have to choose the right people to ask. It's taboo, after all."

_So close . . . _ Feigning ignorance, he asked, "Why is it taboo? As you said previously, it's just a hole in the ground."

"Yeah, but most people don't like talking about it since it's basically death's equivalent to suicide. It seems that only the ex-cons don't mind giving out info about it." He crossed his arms, stating the facts candidly. "I guess it's their way of getting back at the 'good' people. We haven't heard of anyone actually jumping into it, though. We just know what happens if that does occur."

"Obliteration?"

"Yeah."

Then a chilling smirk spread full across Raito's face, a sick happiness dancing in his eyes.

"Shit," the teenager whispered.

He raised a hand and patted Matt's head. "Good boy."

* * *

1- L died in 2004, when Saddam was still alive, so that's why he mentioned him.

Heh, Raito's a bastard.

Minna-san gokigenyou.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: First, I'd like to say thank you to all of my reviewers. I'm usually a lot better about this, and for that I bow to you in apology. Also, I'm sorry that it took me nearly 2 months to update. I'm such a horrible author.

To avoid confusion, just remember that this fic is told through L's perspective, unless stated otherwise (like the last part of the previous chapter). Oh, and for you anime watchers, ignore Matt's color scheme. I like the fanon colors better. Eheheh . . .

* * *

L was actually running. He couldn't remember the last time he ran, and this frantically. If he didn't find the teenager before Raito did, he knew what would happen. He also knew it was inevitable that Raito would find out about the hole's purpose. L was never one to do something futile, but this was different. He couldn't afford to have Raito's ego inflated any more than it already was, and if he got the information he wanted from one of L's protégés, even an unwilling one, that ego would be well on its way to recovery. L very much preferred the wounded dignity that Kira now possessed.

"Mello!"

The boy turned around, shock written on his face. "Why are you running?"

"Where's Matt? Why isn't he with you?"

Mello simply cocked an eyebrow and said, "You're not even out of breath."

"We can feel pain. That's all." His patience was strangely lacking. "Where is Matt?"

"I don't know. We got separated when I was talking to some people in a huge crowd. I was thinking about the idiot so that I could find him, but no luck yet." He paused for a moment, then questioned, "Why are so desperate to find Matt?"

"Raito-kun is planning on using him," he replied coolly. Sliding his eyelids shut, L focused all of his thoughts on Matt, concentrating with a calm mind, unlike earlier. Then he let his legs take control.

"What the hell?" the blonde shouted. "Hey! Come back here!" Mello's quick steps were heard. Then the teenager practically screamed directly into L's ear, "What do you mean 'use him'? What is he gonna do to Matt?"

L cracked an eye open. "You're rather protective of him, aren't you." It was an observation more than an inquiry. Now with both his eyes open to their usual extent, he looked over at Mello with curiosity, a sort of sad countenance gracing his features. "You only had each other at the orphanage. Best friends and brothers," he said pensively. L looked upwards and plastered an innocent expression onto his face as he took a sharp left. "You were luckier than me."

"What are you talking about?"

"Am I wrong?" he asked, looking Mello straight in the eye.

"About us, no. I was referring to your comment about how I was luckier than you."

"I had no one like that."

Mello stared at him in silence, confused. Then he said quietly, "You had Watari, though, right?"

"Yes." He hesitated in explaining. Did it really matter anymore? After expelling a deep breath, L stated, "I didn't have a friend. Watari was my caretaker, and although I was very grateful for his presence, it wasn't the same as having someone your own age to talk to. Well, I wasn't exactly a social child, and I always told myself that I didn't mind the absence of company. In truth, I was quite lonely." The sable-haired man halted, squinting in the darkness ahead of him. "It was very bothersome having to constantly deal with people who didn't understand me, so I sunk deeper into myself. Although, as an adult, I could handle others well enough. Thank goodness for that, or working with the Japanese police would have been more of a nuisance than it already was."

"I had no idea," Mello responded faintly. "Y'know, I always looked up to you, L. I was pretty shocked when I found out that you completely lacked social skills."

L turned his head towards the blonde. He knew how much Mello admired him, how much a lot of the orphans looked up to the man they never met, but he never heard one of them say it to his face. L didn't know what the proper response was, but Mello had to understand that the detective was very far from normal. He finally decided on giving his protégé a slight grin, then he placed his hand on top of the teenager's head momentarily before walking on.

"We need to find Matt."

"Y-yeah."

After taking a glance behind him, L had to suppress a chuckle. The boy looked utterly stunned. Well, it _was_ a very un-L thing to do.

Looking forward once again, he was relieved to see a redhead off in the distance. His legs moved a bit faster, but Mello zoomed past him. Once L was in ear-shot, he realized that he was too late.

"What did that bastard do to you?" the blonde asked angrily. "Hey! Matt, look at me!" He shook his friend by the shoulders, but the boy remained stiff and wide-eyed. "Damn it . . . Say something!" Then he suddenly tore the redhead's goggles off. Holding onto them by the strap, Mello placed his hands on the sides of the stunned teenager's head and looked him directly in the eye. "Tell me what happened," he whispered forcibly.

Matt blinked twice. "He knows," came the soft reply.

"How much?"

"The basic idea."

Mello let his hands fall to the tops of Matt's shoulders while heaving a sigh. "Well, he was gonna find out eventually." Narrowing his eyes, he asked, "Did that guy hurt you?"

The teen shook his head slightly. "Even if he did, it wouldn't have mattered." His voice was slowly going back to its bored tone. "Don't worry. I'm fine . . . just a little . . . "

"A little what?"

"Um . . . I guess disturbed is the best way to describe it."

L walked closer to them, extremely curious as to what happened and also wondering what Matt looked like without his goggles on. "Oh, they're green," he stated with surprise.

The teenagers looked at him as if the bags under his eyes had disappeared and his hair was combed.

He pointed to Matt. "Your eyes. I've never seen you without those orange goggles on your face."

"I've had them off before."

"I didn't notice." L shoved his hands into his pockets, and he spoke with his usual bluntness. "Let me guess. He was disgustingly pleased. I'm sure he lulled you into a false sense of a security, and you told him without even realizing it. Am I correct?"

"Yeah," Matt answered quietly, taking his goggles back from the blonde. After returning them to their proper place, he looked away from both his friend and the detective. "I was an idiot, falling for something like that."

"It's understandable. He's just as manipulative as I am."

Mello's face contorted with disgust. "You're comparing yourself to Kira?"

L's eyes rolled upwards. "Maybe he changed to some extent since my death, but while I was alive, we were very similar. I won't deny that."

"When did you ever manipulate someone?"

"Whenever I had to persuade them to cooperate," he stated frankly, looking at the teen. "I persuaded through unconventional methods at times, but I don't believe Kira did more than use his charm. In that respect, we differ. Not that I don't believe he was incapable of such actions."

"Seems like there's a lot I don't know about you," Mello stated blandly.

"Coming from someone who joined the mafia," his friend said with a slight grin.

"Hey!" The blonde punched him in the shoulder. "I wasn't condemning him!"

_Well, at least Matt is alright. And Mello is back to his usual self_, L thought with relief as he watched the two play-fight.

Then he caught himself. He was worried about the teenager? Originally, all that occupied his mind was preventing Raito from succeeding. Since when did he care that much about someone's well-being? The only person whose safety truly mattered to him was Watari's. When that emotion was attached to the elderly man, it was familiar to him. He wasn't bothered by feeling concern for the person who had supported him ever since he was a child. But feeling concern for a boy he barely knew? L didn't even know his real name.

Although this startled him to a degree, he didn't mind it. He wondered if this was akin to worrying over a younger brother. L looked at the teens as siblings now? How odd . . . Where was this all coming from?

"What? You've seen us 'fight' before," Mello said as he looked at L with obvious confusion.

"Hmm? Oh, I was merely thinking." _No, I can't be looking at them in that way_, he dismissed._ They were only my possible successors. . . . But I didn't think I was attached to them. I wonder how I'll act around Near whenever he shows up._

"Don't you want to go find that bastard?"

L looked upwards and said, "I should do that, shouldn't I?"

"Yeah . . . Stop acting like you're brain-dead, and go kick his ass," Mello ordered as he began to shove the detective away.

"You can do that yourself, Mello," he suggested. "Matt's _your_ friend, after all."

The blonde seemed to be mulling the idea over.

"Go ahead. It's not as if I am the only one with the rights to hit him."

Then the boy smirked. "That's true. I'll be back later," he said with a quick wave.

Matt didn't seem too pleased. "Hey—"

"Stay with L," he commanded. "Don't worry about me."

Once Mello was out of earshot, the detective turned to Matt and studied his expression. "You really _don't_ have to worry. He's perfectly capable of handling himself." Though, he could tell that his words did nothing. The expression on the redhead's face was still contorted with anxiety. For once, L didn't know what to do. With his severe deficiency of social skills, he had no idea how to . . . comfort Matt. Was "comfort" even the correct term to use? "Well, you don't have to stay with me if you don't want to. You can go find Mello and watch him fight it out with Kira."

Matt closed his eyes and asked jadedly, "Why not come with me?"

"He might rush at me and ignore Mello."

"But you didn't do anything."

"Raito-kun doesn't need a good reason to hit me, it seems. He has a lot of pent up anger towards the one who made his life a living hell. That's understandable, of course. Constantly being accused of murder wouldn't make anyone content, and nor would being chained to me for a lengthy period of time."

His eyes opened, puzzlement evident in them. "Was that a part of surveillance?"

L nodded. "I wasn't happy about it either, but it was the only way." A rueful grin appeared on his face as memories invaded his mind. "At least he was a normal teenager then. Not that I would exactly know what 'normal' is, but being a mass murderer definitely falls under the category of 'atypical' for any age group."

"What was so different about that time?"

"He didn't know he was Kira."

"Oh, yeah. Of course," he replied sardonically.

The detective briefly explained the rules of the Death Note. He was quite sure he didn't know the majority of them, but he knew the ones that mattered most. And the fact that the "13 day" rule was fake still made him infuriated. It was the only thing that held him back. Granted, he was on his way to disproving the rule, but Kira beat him to it. That was another question he had for Raito. How did he persuade the Shinigami into writing his name down?

"That book was pretty complicated," the teen mused as he strolled away. Peering over his shoulder, the boy asked, "You coming?"

L shook his head. "I told you before that I would be a distraction. I'm letting Mello have his revenge."

"Kira didn't actually do anything to me, though."

"Not physically."

Matt sighed, looking forward. "I'm fine."

"I'm sure you are, but Mello wouldn't believe that, would he?"

The boy puffed a sigh again and continued walking.

It was interesting to L. The stubborn, violent blonde had a soft spot for the lethargic gamer. He supposed that ever person has two sides to them. _Hmm, but does Raito-kun? He's more two-faced than anything._

"Was that some kind of pathetic way of getting back at me?" he heard a resentful voice come from behind him.

L rolled his eyes and twisted his neck around to see a very irate Kira. "Are you talking about Mello? I didn't sic him on you."

"So you expect me to believe that he actually gave a damn about what I did to that idiot? Trust me, I got the general idea of what kind of person Mello is while I was alive. I can't see him caring about what I did to—what was his name again?" He flicked a stray lock of hair away from his eyes, a smirk pulling at the corners of his lips. "Like it matters. Anyway, if you want to give me trouble, at least do it yourself."

The detective merely blinked in response. He wondered just how successful the teenager had been, but he knew better than to ask. All he would get out of the megalomaniac was a death glare or a snide remark that aimed to redirect the conversation.

"What, you have nothing to say?"

"People aren't one-dimensional, Raito-kun. And it appears that I'm about to see what you're other side truly is."

Raito furrowed his brow in confusion.

Instead of giving an explanation, L pointed to the person standing behind the auburn-haired man.

When Raito turned around, he jumped back slightly. "Oh. Father, it's you," he said pleasantly.

L walked around him, wanting a good view of his face.

Putting an open hand to his chest, Raito smiled, but his eyes held a faint glimmer of doubt. "You startled me." He walked towards him, his arms now held out as if meaning to embrace his weary father. "It's good to see you again."

"R-Raito . . . " He took a shaky step forward and grasped onto his son's forearms. With obvious desperation in his tone, he said, "Tell me . . . tell me you're not Kira."

Instantly, Raito's eyes narrowed and his head swung in the direction of the sable-haired man. "What did you say to him?" he nearly growled out.

"It wasn't me. Mello told Yagami-san out of spite. I only backed him up," L answered, an index finger at his mouth. _Will you still deny it?_

He slowly looked back to his father, who was staring at him with pleading eyes. All emotion had vanished from Raito's face. It seemed he was debating whether to tell the truth or not. What was the point in lying, though? Yagami would eventually meet up with Matsuda or Aizawa, and he would ask them in the same way. Wasn't it better for him to finally admit it, let the old man hear it from his son's mouth? Plus, he couldn't feign innocence forever.

Raito closed his eyes and gradually pulled his arms out of Yagami's grip. "Father," he whispered.

_He must have made his decision_, L thought with great interest.

After his eyelids glided upwards, he stated firmly, "I am not Kira."

Someone could have knocked the detective down by blowing on him. It took all he had not to gawk at the auburn-haired man and then proceed to beat some much needed sense into him. _Why_ did he continue to lie? Did he want his father to have peace of mind that intensely? Perhaps . . . Raito actually had a human side. Maybe he was hoping that the other members of the team would pretend that momentous day never happened. L would have to ask him afterwards.

"Thank god," Yagami breathed as he hugged his son tightly.

Surprise registered on Raito's face briefly, but it soon morphed into a look of faint sympathy. Both expressions seemed out of place for him, but it greatly fascinated L. For once, Raito didn't appear to be acting.

After Yagami withdrew, he gave his "innocent" son a good-natured pat on the back, although it appeared to be a little too rough since Raito lurched forward a bit. "I'm so relieved to hear you say it now, when there's no sense in being deceitful." Then he turned to L and frowned. "So what reason did you have to lie, Ryuuzaki? I can understand Mello doing that, but why you?"

L didn't know how to respond at first. He knew why Raito claimed innocence, but it caught him off guard. He honestly thought he would admit to being Kira, despite the mental trauma it would cause his father to have. It seemed that Raito cared enough to let Yagami wander the void in peace, so why destroy that? He initially didn't want to tell him anyway.

"Even in death, I hate to lose. I'm still relatively bitter about my accusations being nothing more than erroneous conjectures," he stated impassively. _I'll give Raito-kun what he wants just this one time. It's for the sake of Yagami-san's sanity._

"Will you apologize?"

He sighed, wilting noticeably. "Haven't we already gone through this?"

"It's alright, Father," the apparently human man said. "He's already asked for my forgiveness. We're on good terms now."

L's eyes immediately locked with his. A slight rage bubbled up from the pit of the detective's stomach, but he restrained himself. _At least he didn't say that I "begged."_

"Well, I'm glad. Nothing beneficial will come from being filled with intense negative emotions in this place. But, tell me, Raito, how did you die? You look far too young to have died from a natural cause."

"Car accident," he said almost bashfully.

Yagami's expression softened as he shook his head. "That's terrible. I would say that I wish I could have been there to protect you, but I doubt I could have done anything to stop a car accident."

"Yes. The other driver was drunk. There was nothing I could do to avoid hitting him."

L was slowly tensing up as Raito continued with his lie. The younger man must have detected this because he wrapped things up with Yagami, saying that they would catch up later.

Once he was out of sight, the sable-haired man took a menacing step towards Raito. "I asked you for forgiveness?" he spat.

He put his arms in the air, palms upward, and a smile flickered onto his lips. "I can't have a little fun? Besides, I knew he would leave the subject alone if I put it that way."

"You should be thanking me for playing along."

Raito crossed his arms, the smile not as blinding. "Frankly, I'm surprised that you did. Perhaps you couldn't tell, but my main objective to denying guilt yet again was to make you look like a fool. Allowing my father to become relaxed was merely a bonus."

L narrowed his eyes slightly. "I had a feeling that might have been a part of your reasoning, but I wanted Yagami-san to be at peace. If it wasn't for Mello, there would have been no question of your 'innocence.'"

"Another reason why I should snap his neck," Raito mumbled.

"What exactly did he do to you anyway?" L asked, all traces of irritation absent from his voice. Curiosity now dominated his thoughts.

"Like I would tell you."

"I think I deserve something in return for my cooperation," the detective stated rationally.

Raito only stared at him, face devoid of emotion.

"Fine. I'll simply ask Mello."

"I'll tell you," Raito said begrudgingly, massaging his left temple. "He caught me by surprise, so he got the first punch, but after that we were evenly matched. I find it peculiar how my strength has increased from when I was alive."

"It comes and goes, correct?"

"So that's happening to you as well."

L nodded. "I've also discovered that pain doesn't always kick in when it should. I was flexible in the living world, but I can twist my 'body' in ways that shouldn't be possible without discomfort. This doesn't always apply, though. Most times, I feel some kind of twinge."

"I haven't noticed, but, then again, I haven't been performing experiments on myself," he stated dryly.

"You should. How else will you know such things?"

Raito gave him a jaded look. "I know all I need to know about my 'body.'"

"Ah, but you're very interested in that hole, correct?"

A smug expression appeared on his visage. "I was wondering when you'd bring that up."

"I know what you got out of Matt, but what do you plan on doing with that information?"

He already knew the answer, but he wanted some kind of confirmation. Raito would get all remaining facts from random women and then use the hole to his advantage somehow. That wasn't hard to figure out. But when it came to successfully getting his protégé to talk, L wondered just how much Raito would rub it in his face. It didn't bother him in the least, though, so if the auburn-haired man was looking for any kind of reaction, he was in for a big disappointment. L didn't care who Raito got his information from; it was the fact that he received any information at all that irked him.

"You know enough about my personality that you don't need me to say it."

"Well, it seems that I don't know _everything_. I was convinced that you were going to admit your guilt to Yagami-san. I was quite shocked. But in this case, I'm 98 percent sure of what your intentions are."

He cocked an eyebrow. "Not 100 percent?"

"You might surprise me again."

"Maybe." Raito smirked and walked towards the hunched over detective. "So now I'm not predictable to you anymore?"

L blinked. "You have gotten more twisted in my absence," he said candidly.

The younger man put his face close to the detective's, his eyes hinting at amusement and his smirk growing more sinister. "How can you tell?"

"Raito-kun . . . if you are trying to make me uncomfortable by invading my personal space, it's not working. Or perhaps," he mused, looking upwards in his usual fashion, "you enjoy this close proximity?"

Raito scrunched up his nose in disgust and backed away. "What are you insinuating?"

The detective shrugged, a quirky grin in place. He hadn't toyed with Raito in a while, and the bastard deserved it, especially when he had "world conquest" in mind. "We've already discussed my sexual orientation, but we have yet to discuss yours."

Raito's eyes widened, and he stumbled over his words. It was an extremely interesting sight to behold. The man's body language suggested that he would vomit if it was physically possible. Was it possible? That wasn't something the detective had experimented with.

L gave a soft chuckle. "Relax. I was only joking."

Immediately, the auburn-haired man scowled at him and roughly grabbed at the collar of his shirt. His face was even closer this time, but it was out of veritable fury. "I am _not_ your plaything, you piece of shit," he hissed. "Do something like that again and you'll wish you jumped into that hole."

Unfazed, L questioned, "Why not just threaten to throw me into it?"

"Because that's not what I have planned." Raito released the detective as if he would bite and started walking away.

"What _do_ you have planned, Raito-kun? I find it strange that you don't wish to have me eradicated."

He didn't halt, but he called over his shoulder, "At the risk of sounding cryptic, you'll find out soon enough."

L's brow furrowed as he watched his rival fade into the darkness. He definitely hadn't expected that. His presence was a nuisance to Raito more often than not, so why wouldn't he want to dispose of him? It seemed that L had an important role, and that made him feel uneasy.

But he was not a pawn.

L had to find out more about the hole, had to be on equal ground with Kira. Being dead didn't mean he was required to be submissive. He didn't care how many people he'd have to ask or what methods he'd have to use. L had already lost once, and he wasn't about to again.

--

"Sorry to have bothered you," the sable-haired man said for what felt like the millionth time.

He sighed loudly and slumped to the ground. Exhaustion: another mystery yet to be solved. The last time he felt exhausted was the last time we went on a crusade for information. Perhaps he was better off looking into the little things first. Well, pain wasn't exactly a small matter. It was a great inconvenience, more so in death.

"Hello," a youthful voice said.

L turned to the side and was met with a group of children. There were six of them, none appearing to be any older than eleven. One was clinging to the boy who spoke.

"Hello," L replied, although somewhat cautiously.

He could handle adults, but small children were a mystery he didn't feel like solving. L couldn't dumb himself down so that a child could understand him. He merely talked the way he always talked. Plus, children had completely different behavioral patterns from what he was used to. Him being socially awkward and incapable of handling people under the mental age of fifteen, he wondered how this situation would play out.

"Did you just get here?"

"No." _I must appear lonely to them._ "Did you?" he added as an afterthought. _I might as well strike up a conversation. Maybe I can get information from them._ Then it hit him. He had been asking adults about the hole. A child would typically be more open, especially in a place that must be rather frightening to them.

"Nope, all of us have been here for a while. Don't know how long. We were all alone, so now we walk around together."

"I see. But it doesn't actually matter how long you've been in this void. Time doesn't exist."

"Really? Huh . . . "

"Where did you live?" the only girl in the group asked.

"Well, I've lived around the world. I had to move frequently because of my job." _If I elaborate on such trivial matters, they should start warming up to me. I have to think back to my days back at Wammy's House._

It was working. The children were in awe.

"What was your job?" another piped up.

"I was a detective. Although, I still consider myself to be one."

That earned him a few gasps of wonder.

"That's so cool!"

"I wanna go around solving crimes!"

"You're pretty funny looking to be a detective."

L suppressed a chuckle. The child was as blunt as him. Ignoring that comment, which had caused someone to elbow the boy in the side, L said, "Well, you see, I'm doing detective work right now. I'm trying to obtain information about this place. Have any of you heard about a hole in the ground?" To his dismay, the children shook their heads. "Then do you know why we can still feel pain?"

"Oh, oh! I know!" came an eager reply from the back of the group. The boy pushed forward and said, "I heard some of the grown-ups talking about it. They didn't really know, so they were just guessing."

L knew that nothing could be a proven fact since there was no higher power . . . that he knew of, at least. People could only experiment and come up with theories. As much as L enjoyed doing such, it was a lot easier, and safer, to merely ask others.

Leaning in slightly, he asked, "And what did they say?"

"That we have fake bodies. No blood, so that's why we don't bleed. But everything else is the same," he answer triumphantly.

"What do you mean by 'fake'?"

"They're not our bodies. They were made up when we got here."

_Very interesting theory._ "Do you know why they thought this?"

The boy shook his head. "Oh, and they also said that nothing bad can happen to the fake bodies. That's why if we get hurt, we get better real soon."

"Is it because the body is fake that it can't retain any damage?" L received a look of confusion. It took him a moment to realize that the child didn't understand what he asked, not that he didn't know the answer. He had to rephrase his question. "Ah, I meant, is it because the body is fake that it . . . doesn't stay hurt?"

"I think so."

L unfolded himself and stood up. He knew he wasn't going to gain anything else from the children. "Well, thank you for your help," he said as walked away from them.

"Hey, wait!" the girl cried out. "Where are you going?"

"Where?" He looked over his shoulder, placing his hands into his pockets. "That's a rather pointless question. There's nowhere to go. We are all in a place that is vacant of surroundings and material possessions." He looked up, an expression of mild bitterness etched into his features. "We are in Nothingness." -1-

His eyes did not dart back to the children, for he knew that their faces held either alarm or bafflement. L had no reason to sugarcoat their circumstances.

But he was grateful that they found him. Now instead of asking about pain, he could ask if people thought they had fake bodies. It was possible that the theory was common, and even if it wasn't, some may offer their own theories. L merely had to go about this differently than he had been.

The more important matter was that of Raito's plan, and the detective wasn't about to let history repeat itself. He was going to push further more rapidly than when he was alive. Because of his hesitation and giving in to the team's morals, he ended up getting killed. Granted, he couldn't be certain that if he had done anything sooner, he wouldn't have been defeated. But L would continue to kick himself for not realizing certain aspects of the case sooner and for practically resigning himself to what he knew was going to happen.

He had definitely sensed what fate was dealt out to him. Ever since they obtained the Death Note, he _knew_ something was amiss. Raito's personality changed, as if he had received an electric shock when he touched the notebook, which had fried an important part of his brain. Although, L seemed to be the only one who noticed, not that that was strange. The rest of the team was oblivious to most things of such nature. It helped that he was a pro at detecting the slightest idiosyncrasy in Raito's behavior. After all, the two had spent a lot of time together. When the Death Note came into play, L automatically noticed the slightly wicked gleam in his eyes and the way one corner of his mouth would turn up in a sneer when he thought no one was looking.

L knew he was going to die, but that didn't stop him from continuing with the most historic case he had ever tackled in his life. That was why he came up with the plan to disprove the "13 day" rule. The detective still couldn't let it go; Yagami Raito had to be Kira. If he could refute that rule, then everyone would have to agree with placing Raito as the number one suspect again. It would have been nice if he wasn't interrupted by the Shinigami.

But he felt relief in knowing that both Death Notes no longer existed in the living world. Near would have discarded them soon after the case was officially closed. And since one of the two rules written in the back was fake, the other had to have been as well. So his successor most likely burned it. Those notebooks were a menace, and that was quite an understatement.

Back to the problem at hand, L kept Raito in his mind in order to find the sociopath and hope to get some much needed information. Of course, he was skeptical that Raito would tell him the truth, or would say anything for that matter. Most likely, the younger man would smirk devilishly and proceed to ignore him. It was worth a shot, though.

When L eventually found his target, he knew immediately that something was odd. Raito was staring downwards, face expressionless. But once L got closer, he realized what was so very interesting.

"How did you manage to find it again?" L inquired after he halted a safe distance away.

Raito's eyes remained glued to the hole, but the corners of his lips turned up slightly.

_Predictable_, the detective thought blandly.

"Let's just say that I have quite a bit of willpower," he replied in a mocking tone.

"That's not much of an answer."

Raito's head lifted gracefully, his eyes trained on nothing, yet it appeared as if there was an object of interest in the "sky." After placing his hands into his pockets, he stated coolly, "You don't have to stand so far away. I already said I'm not going to throw you in. It would be a waste to do so."

L didn't move. "Care to tell me what you mean by that?"

The auburn-haired man finally looked at him. "Not re—"

"You can take the mask off."

He raised an eyebrow, then chuckled and shook his head. "Force of habit." Raito walked up to the detective with his emotions clearly displayed on his visage. It was a mixture of delight and malice, nothing new. "So . . . you think you can just get me to willingly talk? Come on. You know me better than that."

"There's no harm in trying, Raito-kun."

His eye twitched. "How about we make a deal? If you stop calling me that, I'll tell you what your role in my plan is. Is that tempting enough?"

"Very much so, but why would you tell me?"

"It won't hinder me in any way, so I don't mind. But you can't call me 'Raito-kun' after this."

L cocked his head, giving him a funny look. "Why does it bother you that much?"

"I don't like the familiarity," he replied in a husky voice.

"Is 'Yagami-kun' acceptable then?"

He snorted and crossed his arms. "I suppose 'Kira' is out of the question, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"Then it's acceptable."

L nodded once and said, "Alright, Yagami-kun, you have a deal. But you'll have to excuse me if it slips out once or twice. It is a habit, after all."

"That's fine."

"You're being very reasonable, and I find that suspicious."

Raito shrugged, a ghost of a smirk on his lips. "I'll make this quick because I need to get started." Placing both hands on L's shoulders, he said gravely, "I want you, my one true rival, to try to stop me from succeeding."

The sable-haired man blinked. "Excuse me?"

Raito's grip tightened. "I know you would do that anyway, but that is why I do not wish to have you eliminated." Then he suddenly released him and turned his head to look back at the hole. "To be frank, I miss it."

"And what might 'it' be?" L asked with extreme interest.

"Our game. I feel . . . incomplete without the constant intellectual stimulation."

The first thought that ran through L's mind was one of absolute agreement. In response, he warned, "I will be more of nuisance to you than when we were among the living, Yagami-kun."

Raito turned back to face L and gave him a half smirk. Strangely, it didn't have any real malevolence behind it. "I don't expect anything less from you."

* * *

1- I took this from the rule that states, "After humans die, the place they go is MU (Nothingness)." Heck, the whole story is based on this rule (and what Ryuuk said at the end).

I'm planning on this fic having around 10 chapters. It shouldn't take me as long to post chapter 7 because I have it all planned out and have even started writing it. Again, sorry about the wait for this chap.

Minna-san gokigenyou.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Whenever there's a scene break, that means the POV changed.

* * *

For once, it seemed like L was going to let him be. The obnoxious detective hadn't shown himself in what felt like years. Of course, Raito was relieved to be free of his rival, but he was also wondering why the older man was keeping his distance after he was told to pretty much do the opposite. He could only guess that L was investigating again.

Actually, what else _could_ he do? When he wasn't annoying the hell out of Raito, he was most likely either experimenting on himself or going around and asking people about various things. L, always bursting with questions and theories. The auburn-haired man was tempted to roll his eyes. While Raito had changed somewhat after that incident in 2004, L made it apparent that he wasn't budging in the least. But he liked it that way. He didn't want L going soft on him. Otherwise, Kira couldn't have his fun.

Raito sat on the ground cross-legged, making himself as comfortable as possible. If he was going to do this, he was going to do it his way. Pain would distract him, and he couldn't care less about his image at this point. After briefly thinking back to what the old man told him, he inhaled deeply and closed his eyes in concentration.

"_Could you watch where you walk?" Raito said with irritation. "There's so much free space, after all."_

_The elderly man, who was about a foot shorter than him, looked up with a kind smile on his face. "I apologize."_

_Raito didn't waste any time on the fossil and continued walking, praying he wouldn't run into L again._

"_Actually, I have a question for you."_

_He felt like screaming. Every other person he came across just _had_ to talk to him. But Raito decided to humor the old man. At least he wasn't another brainless woman who thought he was "ravishing." Turning around, he said, "Alright. What is it?"_

"_Did you die with any regrets?"_

What kind of question is that?_ "Yes."_

"_And what are they?"_

"_There's only one. I picked an idiot to do my bidding."_

_The old man cocked his head. "A servant?"_

"_I prefer the word 'disciple,'" Raito stated smugly._

"_Tell me, young man. What were you in the living world?"_

"_God," was his simple reply._

_At this, the wrinkly gentleman took a step forward. He appeared to be intrigued by Raito's answer. "How were you 'God'? Did you murder?"_

"_No. I was cleansing the world."_

"_Isn't that the same thing?"_

_Raito was starting to get annoyed by the questions, especially since they were reminding him of his adversary. "No, it is not. I never killed anyone. All I did was write down names."_

_Suddenly, the man's eyes widened with excitement. "Could you . . . perhaps be the one the one called 'Kira'?"_

_He smirked. "So even my name is known in the 'afterlife.' Well, I suppose that makes sense. So many died by Kira's hand. I'm sure you ran into one of them at some point," he said haughtily while crossing his arms._

"_Yes, I have. So . . . you are Kira, the one who held the world in the palm of his hand." He paused for a moment before giving a toothy grin. "I have been waiting for this. You will be perfect."_

_Raito's eyebrows shot up in vague interest. He couldn't tell if the squat man was out of his mind or if he actually had something beneficial to say._

"_As you know, it is quite mundane here . . . and I want to see something interesting, Kira."_

Heh, déjà vu.

"_Would you like to know the secret behind the hole?" he whispered._

_The auburn-haired man felt extremely lucky. What were the chances he'd run into someone who knew such a thing? Wait . . . was this some kind of prank?_

"_Ah, you are probably wondering if you should trust what I say or not. I assure you that I speak the truth. I do, in fact, know the secret."_

"_When did you die?" Raito asked abruptly._

"_Judging from you're your apparel, a long time before you."_

"_Well, I died in 2010."_

_He nodded. "Yes, quite some time before. Millennia, actually."_

_He wasn't expecting such an answer. Perhaps being dead for so long led the man to obtain such important knowledge. Raito turned his charm on and asked how he knew something that was considered extremely prohibited, but the old man ignored his question and proceeded to tell him the secret._

_A person can gather one hundred souls at a time to the hole. The summoner must be within close proximity to the hole, then they must meditate in the following manner. Close the eyes, count to 1000 without ceasing, be relaxed, and do not let other thoughts enter the mind._

_If that is done correctly, the souls will come in a trance-like state and will do, or say, whatever the summoner wants. Also, they can not tell a lie. If another person tries to control them, it will not work unless the summoner orders the souls to follow the command of that person. This effect lasts as long as it took to count, and it's the only instance in which there is "time."_

_Raito barely opened his mouth before the old man quickly walked away, saying only one more thing. He wanted to see something that would turn the "afterlife" upside down and cause the Shinigami King to become agitated._

_The auburn-haired man perked up considerably at hearing "Shinigami King." Someone else new about the existence of the Shinigami? So many questions were running through his mind, but when he turned around, the bizarre man was gone. He tried finding him by concentrating on his face, but it was no good. Perhaps the trick only worked on people you knew from the living world. But would it work on the hole? He had to find it somehow. It seemed far too simple, but he saw no harm in at least trying._

_After walking around aimlessly for what felt like decades, he gave up in frustration and tried to think up another tactic. He then decided to meditate as if he was trying to gather souls, but instead of counting, Raito focused his thoughts on the hole._

_His desire to continue his mission was unstoppable. He could be God even in death. Just the thought of it made his "adrenaline" rush. Kira's name would be known throughout the void. People from all centuries and walks of life would either fear or respect him. He could weed out the evil that he had purged when he was alive and go even further._

_Raito had a purpose again._

"Um, excuse me."

Raito's auburn eyes snapped open. "What?" he barked.

The young woman fidgeted with the hem of her shirt. "I was, uh, wondering if you met a little boy named Francis—"

"Don't waste my time," he interrupted sharply. "The possibility that I know this boy is barely over zero percent." Immediately after he said that, he mentally slapped himself. _Wonderful . . . now I'm sounding like L._

"Ah, y-you're right. I'm sorry."

After she ran off, Raito calmed himself. "I was only up to 105. It's not such a big deal to start over when I barely got that far," he reasoned out loud.

But after the fifth interruption, he lost it. He had gotten up to 874 by that point, and his rage was so great that he stomped over to the young man and punched him twice in the face, once in the stomach, and kicked him in the back a few times when he fell to the ground. Once his injuries healed, the terrified man bolted.

Raito looked towards the hole that was about seven feet away and briefly wondered why no one paid any attention to it. All five people who disturbed him acted like it didn't even exist. Maybe they were simply too afraid to acknowledge the hole.

Suddenly, he felt as though someone was watching him. Raito swung his head around and saw a familiar face off in the distance. An involuntary shiver went through his "body," which was followed by a severe urge to wrap his hands around that pale throat.

The white-haired man, who appeared to be in his mid-60s, only grinned and said, "Nothing you do can change the fact that you lost miserably." And with that, he walked away slowly, curling a lock of hair around his index finger.

Raito desperately wanted to chase after Near and pay him back for the degradation he put the all-mighty Kira through, but he had more pressing matters to take care of.

"Back to counting, " he mumbled as he sat down.

--

L was merely walking around with nothing but that odd encounter he had with his rival stuck in his mind. It was the second time he saw Raito appearing to be human. Well, at least appearing to be so in the "afterlife." The detective had thought Raito would act like the lunatic with a god-complex that he was while among the living. Of course, the younger man had shown his true colors to L in their first few meetings, but what was with that benign "smirk"? It puzzled him till no end.

"Ryuuzaki!"

He looked up and saw a middle-aged man briskly walking over to him, a large grin on his face. "It's good to see you!" he said boisterously. "I could spot you a mile away."

L blinked. "Who are you?"

The man's grin faltered before he laughed nervously and said, "You don't recognize me? Maybe my wife was only humoring me when she said I still looked young."

_Wait, I know that laugh._ "Matsuda-san?"

"Yes! So you _do_ remember me!"

L cocked his head. "My memory has not been altered, but you've aged considerably since I last saw you. What did you die from?"

"Always straight to the point. I was shot while on duty," he replied, scratching the back of his head out of nervous habit. "I only just got here, so I'm pretty confused."

"I'm the first person you've come across that you knew previously?"

Matsuda nodded.

"You should look for your wife. I'm sure being with loved ones would make this place less bleak," L stated while biting down on his thumb.

"Huh?"

"We are naturally drawn to those we knew during life, but there's a way to actually look for them." He paused for a moment, looking upwards in thought. "I'll tell you how if you tell me about the day Kira died."

Matsuda's expression gradually changed into one of solemn realization. "You've already met Raito-kun."

"Yes, and the only details I could obtain about that day were from a man called Mikami. I would like to know the full story. I know you were quite involved since you shot him."

"You saw Mikami? He must've been happy to tell you what happened. He hated Kira after he saw . . . "

"Him acting like a pathetic human?" L finished.

"Ah . . . yeah."

Putting his hands in his pockets, the detective asked, "Will you tell me what took place from the start? Afterwards, I'll inform you on how to find your wife."

"Wait a minute, Ryuuzaki. She's not dead. Plus, why would you have to bribe me like that? I have no problem telling you. In fact, I feel pretty . . . well, stupid for not believing you about your suspicions."

"It's alright, Matsuda-san. There's no need for you feel that way. Everyone on the team was against me, and I don't blame any of you for it. And about your wife, there's no time here, so ignore death dates."

"Oh, really? Then my daughter must be here, too," he said while looking around.

_This man produced offspring?_ L thought dryly. "Matsuda-san," he said to gain his attention.

"Ah! Sorry. I'll tell you what happened on that day."

After hearing all the details, the detective completely understood why Raito didn't want him to know anything. It must have been humiliating just thinking about it. But L couldn't come up with a more appropriate death for Kira. He wished he could buy hundreds of toys and give them to his white-haired successor. After finding Raito and rubbing it in his face—childish, yes, but he couldn't resist—he would have to find Near and congratulate him. L would also have to thank him. The boy was able to accomplish what he couldn't, and although it definitely would have been nice if he himself had been the one to get Raito to admit the truth, at least _someone_ was able to dethrone Kira.

"Thank you very much, Matsuda-san. I shall enjoy tormenting him with this knowledge. Now to keep up my end of the bargain."

Matsuda looked at him sadly in response.

"Ah, my apologies. As a favor to an old comrade, then, I'll tell you how to locate your wife and child. Focus your thoughts on one of them, and let your legs guide you. I don't believe you can look for more than one person at a time."

"It's really that easy?"

"Well, it's slightly difficult at first, but since you're trying to find a loved one, I have a feeling that it will be an effortless task for you."

Matsuda held out his hand, a goofy smile on his face. It took L a moment to realize that he was meant to shake it. As he awkwardly did so, he wondered why the man didn't just bow.

"You're a Westerner, after all," Matsuda said, as if reading L's mind. "It was an honor to work with you, Ryuuzaki."

The detective grinned slightly, noting how much the former police officer had matured without losing that innocent charm of his. "Please, call me L."

--

_. . . 997_

_. . . 998_

_. . . 999_

_. . . 1000_

Raito slowly opened his russet eyes. He could barely breathe as he waited for them to come. There was no doubt in his mind that it worked. He couldn't explain it, but he _knew_ the old man hadn't lied to him. It was torture waiting for that first person to walk up to him, that person who would be under his full control. He didn't dare move until he witnessed the result of his devoted concentration.

Then he heard it, the sound of footsteps coming from behind him. With a grin, he stood and turned around. Raito was greeted with the emotionless face of a young, Asian man.

"Kira is no longer dead," he stated with triumph.

Soon, others came. He had them line up, single file, and began counting to make sure that all 100 were present. Once everyone was there, Kira walked to the front of the line, where his tool of domination was located.

"Were you a criminal?" He couldn't stop a crazed smirk from rising onto his face. It felt so good to have power again.

"No."

"Then you may leave."

He asked everyone to step forward as soon as someone was dismissed, and he then repeated this process until he had gone through all 100 souls. At the end, he was left with seven people. Kira set them up in no particular order and gave out the command he had been dying to say.

"For your crimes, you must be punished. I am God, and I say that you are not worthy to exist . . . so you must walk into the hole."

The man calmly took three steps until he fell. Kira peered in and saw the criminal hover momentarily before starting to disintegrate. At that moment, he was awoken from his trance, and he let out a high-pitched scream. Kira's eyes widened. He had not been expecting it to be painful. Or perhaps the man was just startled. _No, it is a cry of pain,_ he decided with satisfaction.

Turning to the next soul, he repeated his words of judgment and did so for the others. He was fascinated with how they were obliterated, not being able to tear his eyes away after each one stepped into his glorious tool for "death."

Just as he was about to send off the last of the filth, an irate voice shouted at him. Giving a soft chuckle, he looked to the detective and asked, "Do you know how you're going to stop me now?"

Instead of answering, L marched over to him, fuming. "Don't tell me you're pushing people into the hole."

"I'm not," he replied simply.

"Then what _are_ you doing?"

Eyes gliding over to the criminal, he commanded, "Walk into the hole."

--

L immediately blocked the man's path and restrained him. He glared at Rai—no, it was Kira. Despite the pleasant smile on his lips, insanity was set deep in his eyes, which were now tinted red. "God" had returned.

"I'll continue holding him back," L said with determination.

"But you must be curious. What happens when someone walks into it?"

Gritting his teeth, the sable-haired man ordered, "Stop using that pseudo friendly tone, _Yagami-kun_."

Instantly, his smile grew wider, and the insanity in his eyes reached new heights. The expression on Kira's face was downright eerie. "You can't deny that you're curious, L. And you can't stop that unworthy soul from obeying me." He gave the command again while grabbing onto the detective's wrist and yanking him away.

"Ah!"

The man took a few more steps, then plummeted to his end.

"Damn it!"

Unfortunately, L _did_ want to know what exactly happened when someone walked into the hole. That interest took over, and his eyes followed the soul's descent. When he saw him begin to disintegrate, he couldn't look away. But when the scream hit his ears, he jumped. By the sound of it, the pain was excruciating, making L cringe slightly.

"I was also surprised," Kira said abruptly. "Well, that's seven down."

"Seven?"

His disturbing countenance was still in place, and L had a very strong urge to punch it off.

"I can gather 100 souls at a time. They'll do whatever I say and cannot lie to me. I'm exterminating the criminals in this place, just like what I was doing in the living world."

"But don't you realize that you've become what you hate most?"

Kira scowled at him. "I am God, and God isn't evil."

L sighed, knowing he wasn't going to get through to him, especially when he was on a power trip. "You just keep telling yourself that," he mumbled. "How did you figure this out, a way to gather 100 souls?" L asked while staring him down.

"I bumped into a strange old man. He told me all about it."

"And you believed him?"

"Yes. He knew about the existence of the Shinigami."

"How exactly do you gather them?"

"I'm not telling you that. It would make it too easy for you." He began walking away, but L caught the smug look on face. "Go find the old man and ask him yourself."

Ignoring Kira's proposal, he asked, "Where are you going if you found a new 'Death Note'? I feel like you're trying to throw me off the scent."

"I don't need to stay here." And with that, he walked away and eventually faded into the darkness.

L's nails dug into his palms. The bastard was playing with him. But there really was nothing he could do unless he found the old man, or at least someone who knew him. Even though he hated doing something that Kira suggested, he had no other choice than to try.

"Trying" was getting him nowhere, though. After questioning numerous people, L felt like simply finding Raito and beating the information out of him. He just didn't care anymore. The process wasn't at all like that of the living world. His resources were extremely limited, and he didn't have the status of being the best three detectives in the world. There was no reason for anyone to speak to him. Not even with Watari's help could he get anywhere, so he didn't bother asking.

Without truly meaning to, he came upon Kira, who appeared to be walking around as if he "ruled the land." Why was he strutting when he could be passing judgment on criminals? The detective wanted to ask him, but he was too annoyed to bother. Instead, he pretended as if he never saw him and continued on.

"L!"

He cringed and rolled his eyes. _I don't need to hear it._

"Do you want to know how many I've sentenced?" the auburn-haired man asked rather eagerly.

_He sounds like a child who wants his parent's attention._

"A grand total of 67," he boasted.

L bit his tongue, fought the desire to break some ribs, and quickly walked away.

Kira didn't say anything else. He was probably snickering to himself, know that he got to L.

_I am _incredibly_ tempted to turn back and rip his skin off_, he thought darkly.

"Yo."

L halted. That voice was unfamiliar to him, yet it sounded as though the person knew him. He turned to where the voice came from and saw a strangely tall man with black, spiky hair.

"Saw you talking with Raito back there. Or, heh, I should say Kira."

L perked up. "Who are you?"

"I knew him when he was alive."

"That didn't answer my question."

The bizarre man said nothing.

L grew suspicious. He knew Raito was Kira. Could he have been an accomplice? It was possible. L didn't have all the specifics of the period between his end and Raito's. If the man _was_ an accomplice, he had to have been one after his death. L would have known if there was yet another Kira.

"What kind of relationship did the two of you have?"

"None."

"What is your name?" L asked while trying to keep the frustration out of his tone.

At that, the lanky man gave him a toothy grin, appearing rather goofy and threatening at the same time. "Ryuuk."

* * *

Ahhh, such an evil cliffhanger. Ryuuk has a rather significant purpose to the story. And the whole thing about L knowing how Raito died will come up in the next chapter. He forgot about it when dealing with Raito being all "godly" again.

Sorry for the shortness of this chap. I figured updating quicker than usual would make up for it. (Plus, I really wanted to stop there. Eheheh . . . )

Thanks to all my reviewers!

Minna-san gokigenyou!


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: I'm sorry it took me so long to update. Things got a little crazy, and then I just wasn't in the most Death Note-y-est of moods. Eheheh . . . There's only one more chapter after this, and while it _is_ written, it needs some major work. I'll try to get it up as soon as I can, but college will be interfering in a few weeks, so who knows when it'll actually be posted.

* * *

_Ryuuk . . . Ryuuk . . . Why does that name sound familiar?_ L browsed through his memories, focusing his attention on anything related to Raito. Then, finally, he came upon a memory of when he first met him in the "afterlife."

"Hey," Ryuuk said, waving a hand in front of L's face.

Looking at the man, he stated, "You were Yagami-kun's Shinigami."

"Yup."

"Though, I'm slightly confused as to why you appear human, considering Rem looked very otherworldly."

He let out a dry laugh. "I don't usually look like this. The King sent me in human form so the souls wouldn't get upset. My real form looks kinda intimidating."

"So there's a leader amongst the Shinigami?"

"Yup."

L paused for a moment, letting the information sink in. Then he asked, "Why were you sent here?"

"The King noticed the onslaught of souls comin' through, so he wanted me to check it out. He thinks that Kira might be involved since it happened after he died. It makes sense to get me to do the job since I understand the guy better than anyone."

L's brow furrowed. "What do you mean by 'the onslaught of souls'?"

The Shinigami turned around and pointed at the hole. Looking back to L, he said, "When a soul goes down there, they become a Shinigami and lose their memories of being human."

Taking a step back in shock, L's eyes widened slightly. The hole didn't equal annihilation? He understood how people got that idea. After all, he would have come to the same conclusion upon seeing a person disintegrate.

So Shinigami came from the "afterlife."

"Ryuuk-san."

"Just call me 'Ryuuk.'"

"Then, Ryuuk, is that a fate worse than 'death'?"

He nodded. "It's real boring. All you do is gamble and write names down in your Death Note."

So all the criminals had not been sentenced to oblivion but to monotony. L knew that Raito would be just as surprised as he was, but the man would continue passing judgment. It would take more than that to stop him.

"Will you do anything to deter Yagami-kun?"

"No. I'm only here to see who's responsible and report back. The King'll decide what to do next."

"Do you think the King will 'kill' Yagami-kun?" L didn't know why he was starting to become nervous. He could even hear it in his voice.

"Not sure." Ryuuk walked over to the hole but stopped at the edge. Then he looked upwards, apparently thinking about something. "You can tell him if you want to."

Just as the Shinigami stuck his foot out over the hole, L quickly asked for some information that only he would know. There was a possibility that Raito wouldn't believe him.

Ryuuk retracted his foot, thought for a brief moment, and then snickered. "When you revealed yourself to him at the university, he completely lost it when he got home. Started yelling about how you 'got him' and that he'd never been so humiliated in his life." He sniggered, though the sound came out more as if he were choking. "That was the first time I ever saw him snap."

L grinned. _I didn't realize it bothered him that much. How amusing._ "Thank you for telling me."

"Sure. Bye." And he took a step, falling down into the hole.

L squatted on the ground. Should he tell Raito? What would be the consequences of telling him? There was a one percent chance that the sociopath would halt his actions after learning the truth. The criminals still existed; they just didn't have their memories. L figured that Raito wouldn't care about that. As long as he had power over the "afterlife," and the criminals couldn't do any more harm, he would be satisfied.

So then it was settled. L was going to tell him.

The detective stood and began looking for his rival. Though, he was so used to looking for him that he barely had to concentrate. _Hmm, that can't be a good thing_, he thought, letting out a small puff of air.

Soon afterwards, he found the younger man sitting by the hole. _But I just came from there._ L rolled his eyes at how ironic the situation was, then he walked over to him nonchalantly, hands in his pockets. Raito hadn't noticed his presence yet, so he bent down and saw that his eyes were closed. He appeared to be deep in thought. Straightening up to his normal height, he grinned mischievously and pushed Raito in the back with his foot.

"What the hell?" the auburn-haired man shouted. "Damn it! I was up to 803!"

"What does that mean?"

Raito froze. "L?" he growled out, slowly turning around.

"Of course."

"Shit," he muttered.

"I wasn't supposed to know about you counting, was I?" Still grinning, he shook his head. "I'll question you about it later."

Raito got to his feet, glaring at him. "Why the hell are you so happy?"

"I have some important information to tell you."

His glare turned into a look of false exhaustion. "What is it?" he asked wearily.

"I met Ryuuk."

Confusion briefly passed across his face before he dulled his eyes and stated blandly, "That has to be the most arbitrary lie you've ever told."

"I knew you wouldn't believe me, so I asked him to tell me something that only he would know. Yagami-kun, it seemed that my plan to reveal myself so suddenly worked better than I thought it would. I didn't think you would snap."

He seemed mildly aghast. " . . . What?"

"You had said that I 'got you.' Indeed I did, Yagami-kun," L said pleasantly.

"You—wait, you actually met . . . That's not possible . . . is it?" He was now talking more to himself than to his rival. "The Shinigami have their own world. Perhaps they can travel to this void?"

L watched him curiously as he continued muttering to himself. _I like Raito-kun when he's like this. He provides me with good entertainment. Oh, wait. It's "Yagami-kun" now. Well, I didn't speak it, so it doesn't matter._

"L, did he go into detail?" Raito asked, grabbing the detective by the shoulders.

"Don't worry. It's not any worse than knowing exactly how you died," he assured.

His eyes widened. "Any worse than . . . "

"Ah, I forgot to mention it before. I was distracted by your 'cleansing.' I met Matsuda-san, and he informed me about what happened on January 28, 2010."

Raito's grip loosened, and he stared at him with a horrified expression.

"You've gone pale, Yagami-kun," L said in a mockingly worried tone.

He eventually let go of the sable-haired man and looked away. With a grim countenance, he said petulantly, "Go ahead. I'm sure you can't wait to let it out."

Bringing an index finger to his mouth, L rolled his eyes upwards and pretended to think it over. "Hmm, no. I'll save it for later. I'd rather tell you what the hole's true purpose is."

"What?"

L walked over to it and crouched down. He stared at the swirling motion of the indigo and black, enthralled by it. "Ever since learning about the existence of Shinigami, I wondered where they come from. How were they created? _Were_ they created? Perhaps, that was the fate that lay ahead of us." He stretched his arm downwards, fingers splayed delicately, as he tried to touch the swirling mass. "But it turns out that particular fate is only for the desperate or stupid. I never would have guessed." L pulled his arm back and noticed a faint, blue mist lingering around his hand. It fascinated him.

"What are you going on about?" Raito asked impatiently as he walked over to his side.

The detective looked up at him and stated, "Those that go down the hole become Shinigami, their memories wiped clean."

As expected, Raito was shocked. Though, he remained silent. It seemed that his mind was racing, since his mask crumbled. His eyes were widened, not focusing on anything, and his lips were parted slightly. Eventually, Raito blinked and swiftly put his mask back in place.

"Will you continue?" L asked.

He gave his adversary a level stare. "Of course I will."

When Raito fell silent again, looking away, L took the time to think. Why had he been counting? And why was he sitting? It seemed as though Raito was extremely deep in thought, since he didn't notice when L was right beside him. His reaction to the intrusion was far more than what L had expected, though. Perhaps, counting had to do with his plan.

The detective smiled and got to his feet.

"Yagami-kun, do you have to count to a certain number in order to gather souls?"

The only answer he received was a barely perceived glance, but L was convinced he was correct. He then came up with an idea.

Rolling his eyes upwards, thumb at his mouth, he said, "I have decided to put Yagami-kun under constant surveillance."

"What did you say?" came the agitated reply.

"I shall stay by your side as if we were handcuffed once again to prevent you from counting," L stated frankly.

"Have you gone insane?" Raito shouted. "Why the hell are you going to put both of us through that again?"

He looked at the raging sociopath with a blank expression. "You told me to try to stop you," L countered. "That's my role, isn't it?"

"Not like this! It's supposed to be like when we were alive! Use your brain!"

"This is my plan for now, Yagami-kun."

Raito looked like he was biting his tongue so as to keep himself from screaming. Then he broke out into a run.

L blinked in surprise. "I wasn't expecting him to do that," he said absentmindedly. "But there's no point. I can easily find him." He looked upwards briefly before giving a soft chuckle. "Poor Yagami-kun. I almost feel bad for him since I'll be the only one getting any entertainment out of this. He really needs to lighten up."

"Hey."

L turned around and saw the Shinigami stared back at him.

"Talkin' to yourself, huh?"

"Being dead makes one do strange things," he responded lightly. "Anyway, what did the King tell you?"

"I said that you'd keep tabs on Raito, so there's nothing to worry about. The King agreed to let it be as long as the number of souls comin' through goes back to normal."

L cocked his head slightly. "How did you know I would watch Yagami-kun?"

"I've been around since before you even come into the picture, y'know. Well," he said as he scratched his chin, "I wasn't there when Raito gave up ownership, but I still get how everything works. You're the perfect guy to go against Raito."

"I see."

"And you don't have to worry about the King. I've tricked him in the past. That's how I got another Death Note."

L's eyes dulled. "I should be angry with you, considering you're the reason I'm dead. You gave that Note to Yagami-kun."

"Nah, I only dropped it in the Human World. I didn't know who was gonna pick it up."

"It's still your fault," L mumbled. Then he coughed and changed the subject back to what they were originally talking about. "What will happen if I don't succeed, and Yagami-kun condemns souls again?"

"I'll have to take him down the hole with me."

"Is that the only connection between the 'afterlife' and your world?"

"Yep, and for you souls, it's a one-way ticket."

So if he didn't stop Raito, he'd become a Shinigami. As much as the younger man infuriated him, he knew it would be boring without him around. He already decided to stop Raito, but should he tell the power hungry maniac what his fate would be if he continued? Perhaps it was better to wait. Even though L knew it was highly impossible, he wanted to try to change Raito's mind somehow. If it got too annoying to keep him from gathering souls, then he'd tell him. _I'm 99 percent positive that Yagami-kun would be too apprehensive to resume with his plan after knowing the truth. I remember Matsuda-san saying how much Yagami-kun feared death._

"Well," Ryuuk said abruptly, "I'll be goin' now. The next time you'll see me is when I come for Raito, if it gets to that." Then he walked into the hole.

L stood there for a moment. "I should go find him now, I suppose."

He barely walked 10 feet before he saw Raito's auburn hair in the distance. _Too _easy, L thought with mild amusement. Once he got closer, he saw that Raito was looking upwards. His mask wasn't on, but his countenance was blank. Since it appeared that the younger man was lost in thought, it startled L when he began speaking.

"You really won't leave me alone, will you?" Raito asked quietly, still not looking at him.

"Yes. I don't want you to judge any more souls and have your god-complex worsen."

"Why do you care about my 'god-complex'?"

L hesitated. He didn't know how to respond. Raito's personality and behavior irritated him, so if his ego got any bigger, L would want to break every one of his bones. That had to be the reason. The detective couldn't actually be concerned about his welfare. That was absurd. But L was really starting to question his motives. Well, either way, he wanted to stop Raito from satisfying his lust for control . . . but he would miss Raito if he was gone and would be in agony from tedium. He couldn't figure out which was the true reason, and that frightened him.

Suddenly, L realized that he still hadn't given a reply. He looked at Raito and was puzzled as to why he was lazily staring back at him. His rival was being oddly patient.

"I'll be honest. I'm not sure why, Rai—Yagami-kun." He mentally kicked himself for the slip.

The auburn-haired man cracked a smile, but he didn't comment on it.

"I'm afraid that I may be somewhat attached to you," L said with slight confusion.

His smile vanished instantly, and he started backing away.

_He seems to have misunderstood me._ "Let me rephrase that. I would be bored without the constant bickering and such."

"Oh," Raito said with relief. "You should have just said that to begin with. I'll be honest as well. I feel the same way, to a certain extent, but you still drive me insane.

"Likewise."

"You have bizarre mannerisms and an overanalytical way of thinking."

"Hmm, but if I didn't overanalyze, we wouldn't have had our interesting little mind games," L reasoned, a touch of humor in his voice.

Raito only glared.

"And you have faults as well, Yagami-kun. You are excessively neat and are a backstabber. Have you ever had a meaningful relationship with someone, or do you simply use people to your own advantage?"

He snorted and crossed his arms. "I don't have to reply to that."

"You know, Yagami-kun, I'd rather hold objects oddly and sit on my haunches than be someone who only looks down on others and constantly uses people's emotions as tools."

"Didn't _you_ do that?"

L shook his head innocently. "I _have_ been honest with people. I admit that I am overly suspicious of others, but I have treated some with respect, those that I felt deserved it."

"I'm assuming the only person whom you trusted was Watari."

"He wasn't the only one. I trusted your father. Even if he didn't agree with me, he cooperated for the sake of the case. I also have faith in my protégés, now more than when I was alive."

Just when L thought that his rival would start up another dispute, he went silent. It appeared that he was thinking, but what really struck the detective was that his features softened to the point where he looked human.

"What about me?"

L furrowed his brow.

"Did you ever treat me with respect?"

"That's a foolish question."

"I know, I know. You always thought I was Kira," he said impatiently. "But what I'm asking is if there was ever a moment where you treated me as a human being."

"Yes," he answered without hesitation.

The quick reply made Raito's eyebrows shoot up.

"I've already said that I admired you. Wouldn't that mean that I treated you as a human being? I'm not trying to get sentimental, but I like you as a person, as Yagami Raito, and I respect you as such. Any further than that, I despise you." He paused for a moment, then he put an index finger to his mouth and walked towards Raito. "Actually, I respect you more so after my death. You were able to defeat me. I was so close to making you the top suspect again, but you had a counterattack ready." He stopped in front of the auburn-haired man and looked him in the eye. "Although, I would be more impressed if you hadn't resorted to using the Shinigami."

Raito's facial muscles tensed slightly, but he didn't comment. Instead, he asked, "Why are you being so open? I didn't expect you to say that much."

"Haven't I already explained that it's better to be honest now? Besides, we're going to be spending a lot of time together, so we may as well." L looked off to the side while placing his hands in his pockets. "This reminds me of when we were handcuffed."

"I would rather forget that and not have history repeat itself," Raito said grimly.

"I feel the same way." The detective peered at him from the corners of his eyes and stated, "But Yagami-kun is the one repeating history."

"I'm simply continuing to fulfill my role as God."

L sighed. He knew there was no point in trying to convince him that what he was doing was unethical. Raito had held such beliefs for so long that they were too ingrained into his mind. There was only a three percent chance that he would eventually let it go and try to pursue other, healthier interests. Though, that three percent was enough to keep the detective hopeful.

"Since we're being so honest," L said abruptly, "will you tell me how you persuaded the Shinigami to write my name down?"

Raito smirked. "Of course."

"Oh, wonderful. I've awoken the monster," L nearly groaned. "Don't get cocky, Yagami-kun. I only asked a simple question."

Snickering, Raito loosened his tie and explained the whole situation. It was all because Rem had an emotional attachment to Misa. If it wasn't for that, L probably wouldn't have died. Of course, Raito could have always come up with a different plan, but it didn't really matter. There was no changing the past, and they were both dead. L took solace in knowing that Kira's reign was over. If he had to die in order to help stop the megalomaniac, then he didn't mind so much.

After Raito's brief explanation, a slightly uncomfortable silence fell between them. Both knew that they were stuck together for eternity, or at least until Raito gave up on "world domination." But it would take a miracle for that to happen, and L didn't believe in miracles. Still, a small part of him was pointlessly hopeful.

"What do you plan on doing, staying by my side?"

"Hmm? Oh, I'll merely keep you from counting. I know that has something to do with how you gather the souls. I'll be sure to break your concentration every now and then. You can't simply pick up where you left off, or you wouldn't have been so angry at getting interrupted."

"You can't do that forever, L."

"I'll come up with a new plan. This is just temporary." Suddenly, he perked up. "I just realized, where's Amane-san? Shouldn't she be latched onto you as if you were her source of oxygen?"

Raito rolled his eyes. "Like we need oxygen here," he mumbled. "I said _a few words_, and she's been gone ever since. Though, she may get the nerve to approach me again sometime."

_I almost feel sorry for her_, L thought as he looked away. _It's her fault for loving such a person, though._

"Hey," Mello said, strolling over to them with Matt trailing behind.

"Oh, I haven't seen you two for a while," the sable-haired man said pleasantly. "Have you been exploring?"

Mello promptly ignored L and proceeded to scowl at Raito, who returned the expression.

"Sorta," Matt answered instead. He glanced at his friend, shook his head, then lazily walked up to L. "We talked to a few people who lived through the Russian Revolution. Then there was this old woman who lived in Ancient Egypt. It was actually kind of interesting."

"I haven't really had the chance to discuss such things with people," L replied with a hint of envy.

"Oh, and we found Near."

"Really? How did Mello react?"

"Well, you see, I decided to do the leading for a bit, saying I was bored with just following him around. Then I used that trick for finding people. I wanted Mello to get over it 'cause he was starting to drive me crazy."

L cracked a grin. The redhead wasn't third in line for nothing. When he looked over at Mello and Raito, and he deemed it was safe to continue with the subject without interruption, he asked, "Did he try to run?"

"No. I think he really did want to talk to him, but he didn't wanna admit it. So he walked up to Near, all calm, and told him to go ahead and brag, get it out of his system. Near said he wouldn't, since Mello's actions lead to Kira's demise." He looked downwards. "I didn't realize what we did actually helped that much. Heh, almost made dying worth it."

"'Almost'?"

Matt look up and said, "I'm sure Near would've come up with something even if we hadn't done that."

"Perhaps."

"Well, Mello was shocked to hear his rival say something like that. Then Near said, 'We could surpass L by working together.'"

"I knew only Near would be able to figure that out."

Matt shrugged. "I never paid attention to notice that they balanced each other out pretty well. Anyway, Near held out his hand, and Mello stared at it for a while. Then he let out this frustrated sigh and shook it. That was how they left things."

"I'm surprised. It seems that Mello has matured."

"I know, right?"

"Hey!" the blonde yelled, stomping over to them. "Are you talking about me?"

"No," Matt answered.

"Then what were you talking about?"

"Nothing," L said.

Mello dulled his eyes. "You're both horrible liars."

"Actually, I'm quite good at lying," the detective said frankly, earning himself a mild glower from Raito. "I was doing a poor job on purpose."

"Yeah . . . " Then Mello looked off to the side, and his eyes widened. "What the hell?" he shouted.

L looked in the direction Mello was gaping and saw the hole off in the distance. Even from that far away, it was clearly visible. "Oh, yes. I forgot that we were near it."

Matt turned around to look as well, but he didn't comment.

"Oh, if the two of you wish to speak with me from now on, you'll have to deal with Yagami-kun." He nodded over at Raito. "I'm babysitting him."

"Don't say it like that," the auburn-haired man growled out. "You're just interfering."

"Isn't that what you wanted?"

Raito appeared to be to having trouble keeping his anger in check. "We've already discussed this."

Mello snickered.

"What? Do you have something to say?"

He ignored Raito and said, "We'll stick around and help you babysit, L."

"Sounds like fun," Matt said lethargically.

Raito's eye twitched. Instead of screaming or running over to strangle every one of them, he sucked in a deep breath, crossed his arms, and slowly walked away.

The three followed Raito, staying several feet behind him.

He glanced at them over his shoulder and said, "I'll snap if you keep it up. Dealing with L will be bad enough."

Mello smirked. "And I'll be happy to beat you if that happens."

"Maybe L would like a chance," Matt suggested as he brushed a few stray hairs away from his goggles.

The detective mulled the idea over before saying that it would depend on what Raito did when he lost it. Then he decided to change the subject to avoid making Raito angrier. He wasn't in the mood for toying with him. Looking to his protégés, he asked, "What happened at Whammy's House after I died?"

As expected, Mello spoke up first. "I was shocked, while Near displayed no emotion. It was sort of stupid, but I guess I admired you so much that I didn't think you would ever lose, let alone die." Raito sniggered, and the blonde shot him a dirty look before continuing. "Since you hadn't picked one of us, I decided that Near would be 'L.' Then I—What?" he asked dryly.

L shook his head, wiping the surprised expression off his face.

"What was _that_ for?"

"It was nothing."

Mello stared at him a bit longer, then he looked ahead and stated, "I left the orphanage right after that, used what money I had to get an apartment, and started working to save up."

"That must have been hard since you were so young at the time. You must have had to work in shady places until you were 16." -1-

Mello shrugged. "I didn't care. I had to eat somehow. Anyway, I planned on going to the States. I figured I could get better resources there in capturing Kira. After three years, I had enough money, so I went to L.A. and joined the mafia. It took me about half a year to really gain some respect."

The detective looked at him wearily. "I still can't believe you used your skills for the exact opposite. You would have been considered my enemy."

"Yeah, but it was the best way to go after Kira, which I did a year and a half later. I already told you the rest."

L scratched the back of his head. He was amazed that the boy had made it on his own for so long. He couldn't imagine what he had to deal with during those five years, but knowing Mello's personality, he was able to survive through his own stubbornness.

"Where were you during all those years, Matt?"

"I stayed at the orphanage for another year after Mello left," he said listlessly. "It got too boring without him around. Everyone else was too much of a suck-up, and it was pretty annoying. I had no way of contacting him, though." He looked up and moved the goggles away from his eyes. "He left so suddenly. Just gave a quick goodbye and said he might need my help in the future. I figured I'd see him again at some point, so I didn't bother trying to find him."

His eyes flicked towards Mello. Perhaps he was curious to see what the blonde's reaction was to hearing Matt's side. Though, from what L could see, Mello wasn't giving any reaction. His face was blank. It seemed as though he wasn't listening, but the older man knew that he was actually concentrating on what his friend was saying. L wondered if this was the first time hearing what happened to Matt in those five years.

"I lived a pretty simple life. It was monotonous, but I didn't mind. Went to work, played games, ate the bare minimum, and slept a decent amount. Just like Mello, I didn't bother with school. Technically, we didn't need high school education with our high IQs."

"I didn't have to go through all of the regular schooling that Whammy's House offered, but you two weren't so lucky."

"Yeah. Algebra sucks," the redhead muttered.

Mello chuckled slightly.

"Well, four years later, I got a call from the idiot who blew himself up." He jerked his thumb at Mello, who frowned at the reference. "It was a good thing I had the same cell number. From then on, we worked together to try to catch Kira."

"It's always better to have some assistance," L remarked, thinking of Watari.

Then they grew quiet. L noticed that Raito's shoulders drooped slightly when their conversation was over, and he rolled his eyes. _He must be ecstatic that we ceased talking_. _It wasn't as though we were talking about him, though._

Abruptly, Mello quickened his pace so that he was directly behind Raito. Then he silently lifted his arm and flicked the older man in the back of the head.

Raito stopped and turned around sharply. "Why did you do that?" he asked menacingly.

Mello didn't respond. He just stood there with his arms crossed.

"It didn't hurt, you know."

"I wasn't aiming for that. I simply felt like annoying you," the blonde stated plainly.

L knew that his adversary was on the verge of losing it. If Mello pushed him just a little further, he would have to intervene. Of course, knowing his protégé, he would keep going until Raito took a swing at him.

Smirking, Mello said, "It's fun irritating someone who felt they were 'God.' I get the feeling that you're good entertainment."

Raito's eyes widen with fury, and his whole body twitched. "I've had enough!"

The detective sighed and quickly walked up to them. Though, he would have run if he had known how violent the man was going to be.

The sociopath took a handful of Mello's hair and growled out something too low for L to pick up. Whatever it was that he said, the blonde mustn't had expected it, since his eyes widened and his jaw went slack. L had never seen such an expression come from Mello, and it made his pace quicken slightly, but he still didn't reach them in time.

Raito shot his other hand into the boy's face, successfully gouging out his left eye. After tearing the optic nerve, Raito threw the eye onto the ground and released his grip on Mello's hair.

Instantly, Mello screamed and covered his eye socket with both hands.

L was frozen. It took a moment before he registered what just happened, but once he got a hold of himself, he turned to Raito and kicked him in the stomach with as much force as he could muster. L then grabbed onto one of his rival's arms and twisted it behind his back.

Meanwhile, Matt rushed over to his friend, obviously uncertain of what to do. Mello was on his knees, biting down hard onto his lip.

"Matt!" L called out. "Get the eye and force it back into the socket so that it can heal properly! He might heal even without the eye in place, so hurry!"

Then L focused his attention on Raito. Why gouge out Mello's eye? Out of all the ways he could harm him, he chose something so peculiar and random. Then L remembered that Raito threatened to do the same to him a while back, but he broke his arm instead. Maybe the younger man had some morbid fascination with eye gouging. It didn't matter, though.

Narrowing his eyes slightly, he twisted the arm back until he knew he had dislocated the megalomaniac's shoulder.

Then it was Raito's turn to scream.

Mello began shouting obscenities at Matt, who had him pinned to the ground and was trying to shove the eye back into place. It was clear that the redhead was panicking. He was being clumsy about it, making it even more painful for his friend. After Matt finally got the eye in, he held his palm over the socket and waited. By this point, Mello had calmed down, but his breathing was slightly erratic.

Seeing that the situation was under control, L let the younger man go, walked around to his front, and looked down at him. Raito was completely still, his face twisted in agony. Glaring, L said, "That was absolutely uncalled for. I will not stand for you acting like that. I don't care what I have to do in order to obstruct your plans."

His hooded eyes slowly looked up at him. "Alright. I won't do anything like that again. Just pop it back into place," he managed to get out.

"It should fix itself," L replied coldly.

Mello sucked in a breath, and Matt cautiously lifted his hand. "Did it heal?"

He blinked a few times and moved his eyes around to test it. "Yeah," he said quietly. "I'm fine." Then he looked at his friend with mild vexation. "You can get off me now." He did so, and Mello sat up, putting a hand to his face. After glancing at Matt, he asked, "Why are you looking at me like that? I'm already dead. This isn't that big of a deal."

"'Isn't that big of a deal'?" Matt shouted. "I just had to shove my best friend's eye back into its socket! How am I supposed to look?" He yanked his goggles off, which had still been above his eyes. "I'm just grateful there wasn't any blood," he said in a calmer tone, huffing slightly. "Would've been too messy."

"Like after the explosion," Mello commented dryly.

"Yeah."

"Well," he said as he got to his feet, "I'm alright, so stop worrying about me."

Looking up at him, Matt stated bluntly, "If it was me, you would've freaked out, too."

He ignored the redhead's dead on statement, and walked over to Raito and L. "Since when is flicking someone in the back of the head equivalent to gouging out someone's eye?" Mello growled out as he kicked Raito in his injured shoulder.

"Don't overdo it," L scolded.

"He tore my eye out! I think I have the right to cause him some pain!"

The detective sighed. "I already took care of that. Let it go."

He took a step towards L, seemingly wanting to grab his collar and shake him. _He wouldn't_, L thought. _The boy looks up to me too much._

"Are you sticking up for that bastard?"

"No." He looked at the auburn-haired man, finding it odd that he still hadn't moved at all. "I'm merely saying that what I did was enough."

Then Raito tried to stifle a scream as his shoulder popped back into place. He put his hand over the healed injury and tentatively rotated his arm. A look of relief passed over his face as he stood, straightening out his suit jacket and glowering at L.

Mello pointed at Raito and stated indignantly, "I can't be around him."

"Then don't be," Raito shot back.

The blonde appeared as though he wanted to take pliers and rip out Raito's teeth. Though, all he did was storm off without uttering a word. Matt narrowed his eyes, put his goggles on, and followed his raging friend.

The 23-year-old sociopath had truly crossed the line. Not that he hadn't before, especially when considering his plan to "kill" criminals, but it was personal this time.

The socially inept detective had finally realized that he looked at his two protégés as more than such. They were like younger brothers to him. Even though he barely knew them, he felt a strange attachment to the hot-headed blonde and lethargic gamer. He didn't mind it, for he was starting to abandon that compulsive suspicion he had of all people. L knew he could trust them, just as he could trust Watari. Their continuous presence led him to believe that.

So when Raito hurt Mello in such a drastic way, he felt a spasm of pain in his heart. It was something he hadn't experienced since Watari died.

"You're a bastard," Raito commented straight out.

L didn't bother composing himself. "You plucked out Mello's eye!" he yelled. "It could have been permanent damage! We don't know enough about the healing process in this void!"

Raito was slightly taken aback by L's outburst. "In my defense, I've never been that violent before. I'm not entirely certain why I did that."

L calmed down, inhaling deeply. He thrust his hands into his pockets and looked away to avoid his anger from flaring up again. "Well, whatever the reason, I will be sure to bring you back to yourself."

"Why didn't you merely repay what I did to Mello?" he asked directly.

"Such an act is too gruesome for my tastes."

After rubbing his shoulder one last time, Raito walked in the opposite direction the orphans had gone. Naturally, L followed, staying close behind. Without stopping, the younger man asked, "Can you stand being near me?"

L thought about it briefly before saying, "It is difficult, but I am trying to remember what you were like when you were 'innocent.'"

"'Innocent'? Oh, when I had lost my memories."

"Do you remember everything from that time?"

"Of course." The way Raito carried himself showed that he had finally relaxed. Most likely, he would be more open in discussion now. "The only memory alteration done to me was Kira related, either forgetting or remembering that I was Kira."

"Was that the real you?"

Raito's head tilted upwards. "Not really. I was acting on my best behavior since I was under suspicion."

"So something close to that then?"

"I suppose."

L frowned slightly. "What kind of answer is that?"

The auburn-haired man didn't reply.

Curiosity reaching its peak, L took a few giant steps so that he was side-by-side with his rival. "Yagami-kun?"

"What?" Surprisingly, he didn't sound agitated. Bored best described his tone.

"If I stay out of your way, would you continue?"

Without hesitation, Raito answered with a "yes."

"For what reason?"

"To fulfill my role as God."

"But you're dead."

"I never claimed to be immortal."

L's eyes lowered to the ground. Quietly, he asked, "What is your true motive? Why bother doing a task that can't possibly be completed? There are far too many evil souls for you to judge."

Then he looked over at Raito, who was staring back at him. His mask wasn't on, as L expected, so instead of seeing impassive eyes and a thin line for a mouth, he saw a weary face that held an odd vulnerability. It was unusual to see such an expression on him, but L understood. He himself was gradually changing in some respect. Death made one reexamine one's personality.

"Could it be that you are frightened without the identity of 'Kira'? Is it all you hold onto?"

Instantly, his features hardened. Narrowing his eyes, he stated emphatically, "I fear nothing."

It was then that L realized he had to tell Raito the truth. He had to tell him about what the King had in store for him if he continued with his plan. Raito wouldn't stop without an extreme emotion to hold him back. Fear of death equaled fear of "death."

_There is nothing else I can do. No amount of persuasion can be enough to change his mind, change his disposition. Telling him what fate lies ahead may be the only thing that can stop him._

* * *

What happened to Mello and Matt after L died was completely made up by me. (Don't want to confuse anyone.)

1- Labor laws in England, where Wammy's House is located, state that a child can work with less restrictions after the school-leaving age of 16. It's kind of hard to explain, but if you know the child labor laws in the States, then you get the idea. (They're not exactly the same, of course.) You have no idea how long it took me to find what the current child labor laws are. I don't like pulling things out of my ass, so I always do research when it comes to things I'm not familiar with. If this info is wrong, though, please forgive me. It was all I could find.

Thank you to all my reviewers! Only one chap left. Makes me sad . . .

Minna-san gokigenyou.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: The double scene break is a "time skip." It's hard to express that when time doesn't exist, but you'll get the idea.

* * *

Raito raised an eyebrow, cocking his head somewhat. "Why do you look like a kicked puppy?"

L blinked. He had been lost in thought, wondering if telling him the truth would actually have an affect. But the detective wasn't putting his usual effort into it, not even bothering with percentages. He figured he may as well just say it and let Raito decide what he wants to do with the revelation.

"There is a significant piece of information Ryuuku told me that I've withheld from you," L stated in a deadpan voice, trying to distance himself from the situation.

"Really, now?"

"If you persist in condemning souls, you will cease to exist as Yagami Raito."

The younger man gave him an odd look and chuckled. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Your shape will transform into that of a Shinigami. Ryuuk will return to the 'afterlife' and take you down the hole with him. This was the Shinigami King's decision."

Raito merely stared at him impassively before snorting and crossing his arms. "What a ridiculous thing to say. Why would I be punished?"

"You are upsetting the balance. Or, at least, that is my assumption."

He looked up in thought. Then he smirked, like he had made up his mind. "I'll fool the King by slowing down in pace. I'll send only one or two at a time, those who had committed the worst crimes out of each batch."

L's eyes widened, though it was barely noticeable. He wiped all emotion off his features, not wanting his rival to know how much that disappointed him. _And we were getting along nicely for a short while_, the sable-haired man thought as he felt a twinge of despondency. But L knew he couldn't stop him forever. If Raito wanted such a fate, then so be it. He couldn't be bothered anymore . . . right?

Wait, what was he thinking? He only wanted to keep Raito around so that he wouldn't be bored. L briefly wondered when his state of mind went towards that of "compassion." He nearly twitched at the thought.

Sighing, L said, "Fine. Do what you must. I'll simply watch."

Raito's brow furrowed. "You're telling me that you won't interfere? It's very unlike you to give up."

L looked straight at him, his gaze unfaltering. Instead of making a comment, he stared into Raito's auburn eyes as if he were trying to burn holes through his pupils. He wasn't necessarily "giving up." The detective still wanted to know what Kira's methods were. He merely didn't feel like doing something so fruitless as convincing him to change, especially at this point.

The younger man gave him a curt nod, appearing to have understood, and sat down with his legs crossed.

"Wouldn't it be easier to be near the hole?" L asked as he sauntered over.

"I'm doing this to find the hole," he responded with his eyes closed, his voice low and controlled.

"Oh, I see."

While he waited, his thoughts drifted back to his relationship with Raito. Perhaps some twisted version of friendship had formed between them? That didn't exactly make sense to him, but he couldn't think of another way to describe it. L knew _something_ was there. His hatred for Yagami Raito had died down substantially since awaking in the void, but his hatred for Kira would always remain intact.

The two were entirely separate entities in L's mind. The Death Note created Kira, forcing the Yagami boy's darkest thoughts and beliefs to surface and be put to use. That one line still stuck out to him. During the time that Raito had lost his memories, he said he would not "trample on people's good will." Or rather, he said that was what he hated the most. L found this to be completely ironic, now knowing that Raito was indeed Kira. Yet, it made him wonder if that was a pure belief he had, that he wasn't just trying to make himself look like the model citizen. If so, then the Death Note undoubtedly transformed Raito's mind into something wicked. But L was once again brought back to the idea that the Death Note didn't necessarily corrupt a person and instead accentuated that person's "dark side."

It's part of being human, having a "dark side." Nearly everyone, at some point in their lives, has thought about how the world would be a better place if a certain person ceased to exist. Many people enjoy, are maybe even fascinated by, television shows or books that deal with the macabre. Some even fantasize about doing horrific things to others. Though, most people keep their "dark side" buried deep within themselves. In Raito's case, his was brought out under the guise of creating a world without suffering. It was an ugly side of him that should have stayed in its place for the sake of himself and those around him.

The movement of fabric ripped L from his thoughts, and he looked over at Raito, seeing that he had stood.

"You found it?"

He nodded and strode away.

The detective followed several feet behind and kept quiet. Would it really work? Could Raito fool the King? L wondered how he would react if Raito failed and was taken down the hole. He supposed he would be gloomy for a short while, but then he would find something else to occupy his "time." Or was he only kidding himself?

Once they reached the hole, Raito sat in the same manner as before and let his eyelids drop.

"Now what are you doing?" L was sick of waiting around for something to happen.

The auburn-haired man cracked an eye open, clearly annoyed, and said, "Gathering souls. Do not interrupt me."

L hunched over more, feigning dejection. "What am I supposed to do in the meantime?"

All he received was one of Raito's usual death glares.

He sighed then plopped himself down. He decided to watch the younger man for a bit. Raito's expression was so relaxed that it appeared as if he were sleeping, and every now and then, his eyebrows would twitch. L bit his thumb as he watched in slight interest. _It really does look like he's asleep_, he thought with amusement. _Though, he looks more peaceful now than any time I saw him sleeping in the living world. He had nightmares often. I wonder if maybe some part of him remembered he was Kira, and it plagued his mind while he was unaware. I should ask him about that sometime._

"Done," Raito muttered.

L perked up slightly. "Really? That was fast."

"I rushed it."

"How high do you have to count up to?"

"1000. And as you already figured out, if I get interrupted, I have to start all over again."

"I'm impressed."

Raito got to his feet and said, "Don't mock me."

"I wasn't."

"Of course not," he replied sardonically.

L remained seated and watched the whole process unfold. Raito rushed through the people, as well. It seemed he just wanted to see if it could be done, tricking the King and staying Kira.

Finally, he had picked the person who would go through. Just after the man had taken the plunge, L stood and asked, "What had he done?"

"Raped and killed 24 women."

"Quite horrific," he stated simply.

Raito glowered at him. "Are you making light of murder and rape?"

"No, I would never do that. But you aren't exactly someone who has the right to look down on murderers."

Raito ignored him and looked back to the hole. He waited a moment then smirked.

"You look pleased."

"Well, I succeeded. I'll wait a little while before gathering again so as not to arouse suspicion." He looked at the detective and chuckled. "What's wrong? Are you disappointed?"

"If only you could let go of your lust for power," he said quietly, staring back at him. "If only you could return to the person you were before the Death Note came into play, this wouldn't have happened."

His smirk grew wider, enjoyment dancing in his eyes. "What are you talking about, L?"

"Me," Ryuuk spoke up behind him.

Raito jumped and spun around. "W-what? I only sent one person!"

"The King told me to check and see if you were nearby the next time someone came through." He flashed a toothy grin. "Y'know, just in case."

"N-no . . . " Raito mumbled in shock as he took a few steps back.

"It's your fault, Raito. You made the decision to continue being Kira," he said bluntly as he went to grab his arm.

Raito quickly walked backwards to get out of his reach and bumped into L. He whipped his head around, terror evident on his face.

The sable-haired man frowned. He didn't like seeing his rival this way. Looking over at Ryuuk, he asked, "Yagami-kun can't have another chance?"

"Not up to me."

Raito, eyes wide and full of trepidation, started pleading for another chance. "I swear I'll never do it again! Please believe me, Ryuuk!"

"I just said it's not up to me." He cocked his head. "You're being pathetic like last time."

He shook his head fervently, his auburn locks flying, and squeezed his eyes shut. "I don't care! I just don't want that kind of fate!"

"You should've thought about that beforehand."

Falling to his knees, he yelled in an anguished voice, "I swear I won't!"

Just before Ryuuk grabbed onto his arm, L spoke up. "Is there any way he can be spared?"

Surprised, Ryuuk asked, "Why does it matter to you?"

He paused. In that moment, he finally came to terms with how he felt. He hated admitting it, but he saw no other choice before him.

"He's my friend."

--

Raito's eyes snapped open. _What did he just say?_ He cautiously looked up at the strangely human Shinigami before him. Ryuuk appeared to be thinking. Then Raito started to turn his head to look at L, but he stopped himself.

_This can't be happening . . . _

"You just wanna make fun of him for this," Ryuuk finally concluded.

"That is merely part of the reason," L responded calmly.

The Shinigami scratched his chin, then said, "I'll be right back."

Raito stared at the spot where Ryuuk had stood, his jaw loose. He might actually get a second chance? Was it possible? But, wait . . . L was the cause. If L hadn't said anything, Ryuuk would have dragged him away. Why was his obnoxious rival trying to save him?

He finally looked at L. The detective had his eyes trained ahead, no expression on his face. Same as always. Raito could very rarely figure out what L was truly thinking, but he was quite sure L had lied. He couldn't actually think of him as his friend.

"I was telling the truth," the older man said abruptly. "And if you do get a second chance, you'll forever be in my debt."

Before Raito could say anything, Ryuuk reappeared.

"I managed to convince him. But, in return, you must lose a part of yourself."

He was beyond relieved. Although he didn't want to lose any of his memories, it was better than becoming a Shinigami. Anything was better than that.

"So what'll it be?" Ryuuk asked heedlessly. "An eye? A leg?"

Raito knitted his brows together and stood up clumsily. "I need to give up a body part?"

He nodded. "But it can't be anything small, like a finger. It has to be something you'll miss."

The auburn-haired man didn't have to think too hard about it. He lifted his right arm and stared at his hand. That hand, armed only with a pen, had killed thousands. If he gave it up, it would be like giving up on being Kira. What did he really need both hands for anyway? . . . And why did he need to be Kira anymore?

His body felt lighter in that instant.

"Well?"

After taking a deep breath, Raito stared the Shinigami directly in the eye and said, "Take my right hand." Then he extended his arm towards him.

"Gotchya."

Ryuuk placed his own hand over Raito's, and it slowly dissolved. Raito winced, but he was grateful it was just his hand and not his whole body.

"Just remember, if you do it again, you won't get another chance."

"I understand."

"Well, see ya." And he was gone.

--

Both were silent. L watched Raito as if nothing else mattered to him. Well, in that moment, nothing else _did_ matter to him. He couldn't see his face, but he could tell that the younger man was staring at where his hand used to be.

"Have you finally given up on being Kira?"

"I don't have a choice now," he answered quietly. Then he turned around and looked at L with a mix of doubt and fatigue.

"What is it?"

"I can't believe that you . . . saved me. I would feel humiliated right now, but I was already being pathetic." He glanced down at the end of his right forearm and shoved it into his pocket, letting out a cynical laugh. "I'm a complete joke."

"All you have to do is say 'thank you,' Raito-kun."

He blinked. "Why did you switch to the old way of calling me?"

"I've reneged on our deal," he replied frankly as he began walking away.

"Wait, L. Does this mean we're parting ways?"

His eyes rolled upwards, noting the hopeful tone in Raito's voice. "For now. I want to do some real exploring, talking to people about history and such."

"I'll be glad to be rid of your presence." Then he added, "I'm long overdue for self-reflection, anyway."

L stopped and looked behind him at Raito. "Have you honestly changed?"

"Well, I'm still 'twisted.'"

L grinned slightly, then continued walking.

"What was that smile for?"

He didn't respond, but his grin widened.

"Hey!"

_I'm glad I intervened._

--

--

L couldn't remember a time when he was so relaxed. He was actually _having fun_. It was so foreign to him, but he had slowly gotten used to it. Now he greatly enjoyed the moments he had with Mello and Matt, and when Watari joined them, it almost felt as though they were a family. L couldn't have asked for anything better.

"Hey, y'know how Near was always playing with that duck puzzle when we were kids? Well, I managed to get Linda to distract him so that I could snatch a piece." Mello stopped to laugh, then continued with, "The look on his face was priceless! He was looking for that piece as if his life depended on it!"

"Didn't he eventually go into your room and start looking for it?" Matt asked.

Mello frowned slightly and flicked his bangs away from his eyes. "Yeah, he suspected I took it."

L looked upwards in thought. The story sounded familiar to him. "Did this happen when I was there?"

"I think. I can't remember. But, anyway, he never found it," he said haughtily. "Near had to throw the puzzle out since it could never be completed again."

"Ah, I believe we _were_ visiting at the time," Watari spoke up. "I remember hearing from Roger that Mello was complaining to him about stolen chocolate. If memory serves, it all started with a puzzle piece."

Mello crossed his arms in a huff. "The little bastard could be so immature sometimes. He wanted to get revenge."

"But you were immature for taking his puzzle piece," L pointed out.

"He didn't have to take a whole box!"

Matt chuckled, and the blonde whacked him on the side of his head.

"I remember the first time we met," L said as he bit down on his thumb.

Mello looked away abruptly.

"You were about eight, which was apparently old enough to exalt me." He grinned. "You were so shy and barely said a word. But when I asked you what you liked, you became very animated. You were just as obsessed with chocolate as I was with sweets. Then you couldn't stop talking and started asking me all sorts of questions. You were rather endearing, now that I think about it."

The blonde started getting flustered. He tried to come up with excuses, practically stuttering his way through them, which made L chuckle. The detective patted him on the head jokingly, but Mello swatted his hand away, his face beginning to turn a light shade of pink.

Then L caught something moving in the corner of his eye. Ignoring Matt's laughter at the embarrassed Mello, he curiously turned towards the moving object in the distance and was shocked to see a certain auburn-haired man. It had felt like years since he last saw him.

"Raito-kun!" he called out.

The orphans froze.

Raito stopped and looked around until he spotted the group. It was hard to tell because of the distance, but it seemed as though he stood up straighter. Either that was simply because of habit when around other people, or he was startled by their presence, like a deer caught in the headlights.

The detective waved him over, much to Mello's protest, but Raito didn't budge.

"I shall be going then," Watari said, bowing slightly.

L nodded to him.

Mello let out a frustrated sigh and combed a gloved hand through his hair. "May as well," he muttered. "Hey! Quit being such a pansy-ass and get over here!"

It was obvious to L that Raito was glaring at them, even though it was hard to see. He was so used to being subjected to those glares, that he could feel them. But instead of accepting the invitation, Raito continued walking.

Grinning slightly, he told the orphans to stay put, and he strolled over to the auburn-haired man. "What's wrong?" he asked amiably.

Raito gave him a bizarre look and stopped. "You're being rather friendly. It's uncharacteristic of you."

L placed his hands into his pockets and replied, "I'm still myself, but death has made me feel . . . 'free' I suppose is the best way to express it. I had eventually lost the reason to be suspicious of people and such."

"Is this how you were as a child, then?"

"No." He nodded in the direction of Mello and Matt. "Come join us."

Raito looked at the older man dully. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Don't worry. I explained what happened to them a while back, so they should be fine. Of course," he said as he looked upwards, "I left out the part where you were acting pitiful." _I want to save the mocking for myself._

"Why should I?"

L's eyes locked with his. "Should you what?"

"Follow you."

The somewhat playful expression on his face dissipated and became wooden. "Let it go," he replied quietly. "It's better to have companions."

Raito's eyes widened, and he slowly backed away. "You're really starting to frighten me."

The sable-haired man laughed, abruptly dropping his deadpan appearance. "I thought you feared nothing. Anyway," he said as he walked around Raito and pushed him forward by his shoulders, "just talk. I'm curious to see how much you've changed."

"Who says I've changed? And stop pushing me!" He brought his arms up to get L's hands off of him and quickly put the end of his right arm back into his pant pocket. "Fine, I'll go. I'm curious as well."

"About?"

"You. I've never seen you . . . happy. I find it disturbing."

L walked beside him. "To be honest, I also did at first, but I've gotten over it."

Once they reached the orphans, Raito glanced at them, then looked off to the side.

"So Kira returns," Mello greeted, scowling.

"I'm not Kira anymore."

"It looks like you were telling the truth," Matt said to L.

"Why would I lie about that?"

The redhead shrugged.

Mello stared at Raito's arm that was resting in his pocket and a mischievous expression made its way onto his features. "Hey, I wonder what it looks like," he said while pointing.

Without hesitation, he answered, "No."

Smirking, Mello quickly went to punch the man's face, but it was blocked.

"Playing dirty as always, I see," Raito commented dryly. "I'm accustomed to using my left hand now, even as a reflex."

"You can't just let him look?" Matt asked, a hint of sourness lining his voice. "You gouged his eye out, after all."

"Exactly," Mello said with a nod.

Raito turned to the redhead with faint recognition. "You're Matt, right?"

"Yeah. I'm surprised you remember."

He ignored the remark. "Is that your real name? I'm guessing that all of you have aliases."

"It's Mail Jeevas." -1-

"Haven't heard that name in a while," the blonde mumbled.

Raito raised an eyebrow, giving that "you've got to be kidding me" look. "What kind of name is that?" He glanced at the older man. "Though, it's not any worse than 'L Lawliet.'"

He frowned and said, "I already told you I didn't name myself that."

"What nationality are you, anyway?"

The detective brought an index finger to his mouth and rolled his eyes upwards. "I'm not sure, but I know I'm part English . . . maybe part Japanese."

"What makes you think you're part Japanese?" Mello asked.

"Just a feeling."

"Why do you go by your fake names?" Raito inquired, getting back on track. "L uses his real name."

"Well, his name is more of a title," Mello stated. "He's the first 'L.' We were training to become the next 'L.' You get it, pansy-ass?"

"Yes," he answered harshly, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.

"And we go by our aliases now because it's what we're used to. I can't remember the last time someone referred to me as 'Mihael.'"

"Only those close to use know our real names," Matt piped up. He jerked his thumb towards the blonde. "He was the only one who knew my real name until now."

"And, hey, you have no right to say our names are weird," Mello said, getting in his face. "What kind of name is 'Raito' for a Japanese person?"

"I actually asked my mother about that when I was younger. Apparently, they wanted me to stand out."

L blinked. "You can't make fun of my name anymore."

"At least I know why I was named that," Raito stated with irritation.

Mello snickered, turned to L, and said, "What'd his parents do? Pick up an English language dictionary and randomly chose a word?"

"Well, his name uses the kanji for 'moon,' so at least they tried to make it Japanese," he reasoned.

"Why not use the kanji for 'light'? Now his name makes even less sense."

"What's wrong with being different?" Matt asked.

Raito was seething, and L tried not to chuckle. While he thought it was humorous, he was surprised that the auburn-haired man hadn't exploded already or at least have said something in his defense. Perhaps he was picking his battles.

Actually, he was shocked Raito was speaking at all. He was answering questions and being tolerable, which led L to believe that the man had changed quite a bit, regardless if he'd admit it or not.

"You know," the blonde mused, "I never thought we'd be having such a pointless conversation with Kira."

Raito's eye twitched. "I already said I'm not Kira anymore," he stated with barely suppressed frustration.

"Yeah, yeah. You knew what I meant."

Matt said lazily, "Maybe you weren't a terrible guy before becoming Kira."

"I believe the same thing," the detective spoke up.

Raito shrugged, giving the impression that he was somewhat uncomfortable with the current topic.

Well, that worked anyway. L was curious about what happened with Misa. "Have you spoken with Amane-san lately? I saw her after the incident and told her that you might not be as cruel."

"Well, I still find her completely irritating, so I told her to leave me the hell alone."

The sable-haired man looked to the ground contemplatively. "I wonder if she'll yell at me about how wrong I was the next time we meet."

"It's not like I'm a whole new person. The only difference is that I've abandoned my mission."

L thought that was reasonably close to being a whole new person when it came to Raito, but he kept that to himself. He was just relieved to know that he didn't have to worry about Raito being a threat anymore. Now his "rival" was simply a good source of entertainment. Well, maybe later on they could have intellectual conversations, but he knew Raito was far from that presently. They would have to take things step by step.

--

The auburn-haired man was wandering the void, letting his legs take control. It was difficult to get away from those three chatty orphans. Well, to be fair, Matt didn't really bother him all that much. But Mello irritated him to no end with his attitude problem, and L was the very definition of "infuriating." The only part of the detective he could appreciate was his mind.

He thought about the statement that saved him. Friend? L saw him as a friend? It had been tormenting him ever since. Raito couldn't bring it up in the presence of Matt and Mello, but he'd jump at the chance if he could catch the detective alone. He actually felt haunted by that simple utterance. How could the man he had killed think of him as a friend? He should hate him! He shouldn't be able to endure being near him! He had been Kira, the "serial killer" right beside him from almost the start of the investigation! Who would want to be a "murder's" friend, anyway?

"How is it coming along, Kira?"

Raito stopped. He didn't consider himself to be Kira anymore, but he still responded to the name. Turning around, he was met with the smiling face of the elderly man who put him in his current position.

"Well?"

"I've stopped."

Suddenly, the man's smile vanished and rage was etched into his features. "How could you?" he bellowed. "The plan was flawless!"

"Why are you so angry?" he asked calmly.

He let out a ragged sigh and put a hand to his forehead. "I was a defect. I had jumped into the hole soon after my death to escape the boredom of the 'afterlife,' but I never lost my memories when I became a Shinigami. I was looked at as a nuisance in their world, since I asked too many questions. I was too curious, but that curiosity led me to knowing the secret of the hole."

_So that was how you knew about gathering the souls_, Raito thought.

"And that was the final straw. After I learned the secret, the King sent me back here. He would have killed me, but Shinigami can only die one way. I never found that out."

_Falling in love._

"I became bitter towards the King. At least I had something to do there. Here," he said dramatically, holding his arms up, "there is nothing . . . absolutely nothing." His arms fell, and he glared at Raito. "Why did you stop?" he hissed.

It all made sense to him now, but the man's vexation didn't faze him at all. He simply answered, "A friend helped me." There was no other way he could put it, even though he didn't look at L as one.

"What? A 'friend'? There's no need for such things here!"

Raito went silent. That was something he had been thinking. Suddenly, he saw himself in the elderly man, controlled by an emotion that was held onto for far too long. It forced Raito to take a hard look at the kind of person he was. He stopped being Kira, and he "softened" up a bit, but he still hadn't released a certain part of himself.

He didn't need to think of L as his sworn enemy. His hatred towards Near would probably never fade away, but that made him wonder how L's hatred towards him seemed to be nonexistent. L truly was the better person, and he didn't like admitting that. Though, had L forgiven him? He must have if he called him a friend. But L lied constantly. Who's to stay he hadn't lied that time? Raito thought about all the things L had told him that he knew were lies, and not once did L state that it was the "truth" in an attempt to erase any doubt.

So L really thought of him as a friend? Raito's view of him hadn't changed, or had it? _No_, he thought, shaking his head slightly. _L is not someone I consider to be a companion. But . . . how would I know what one is? I've never had one. Then again, neither has he, and yet he said I was his friend._

"Say something, Kira!"

He snapped back to reality. _Right . . . _ "I don't agree." He looked upwards and closed his eyes. "I feel a small sense of relief, knowing that I have a friend, someone who actually cared enough to save my existence." His eyelids slowly lifted, revealing a vibrancy set deep in his russet orbs. "I don't feel so tired now, like the weight of being Kira had vanished as soon as I made up my mind. I never realized how much of myself had been consumed. If I could go back to who I used to be, I would." His head lowered so that he looked directly at the elderly man, and he stated frankly, "I no longer saw the point to being 'Kira.' Realistically, there was no way I could purge all evil. My 'life' would be so repetitive that I probably would have went insane."

"I don't care about any of that!" the old man shouted, his face red. "Get back at the King! That's all I want! I want him to regret sending me back here!"

Raito ignored him and walked away, thinking to himself that that could have been him screaming his head off.

_Alright, so I don't hate L _as much_. I can deal with that. And seeing him every now and then is fine, I guess. Che, I can't believe how much I'm focusing on this subject. This isn't like me at all._ He looked downwards, completely wrapped up in his thoughts, and let his shoulders sag. _I'm going against everything that I am, but I suppose most people wouldn't consider that to be a terrible thing, especially that idiot._

"Ah, you were thinking about me, weren't you?"

He halted and looked off to the side. There was L, sitting with his knees drawn to his chest and that quirky grin on his face. Raito rolled his eyes. He forgot that he shouldn't be walking when thinking about the detective.

L patted the spot next to him.

The younger man sighed, knowing that L would only bug him if he didn't. He sat a few feet away and said, "So where are your protégés? Off annoying the hell out of whomever they run into, I bet."

"I'd tell you to be nicer, but they actually went to find Roger—he ran the orphanage—to pester him, so you're partially right."

"Oh."

They grew quiet, but the silence wasn't uncomfortable. The air between them was oddly peaceful, so much so that the auburn-haired man almost forgot who he sitting next to.

"This feels strange," Raito commented.

"What does?"

"The way we're acting around each other. It's not natural."

"This is how it would have been if you weren't Kira."

"Although, after catching Kira, we wouldn't have kept in contact. You were too much of a recluse, and I wanted to work for the police force."

L didn't respond, apparently thinking. Then he nodded and said, "That is true, but I would have wanted to meet up with you every so often . . . for some cake in that place we went to during our college days."

"I'm surprised you remember that café."

"Raito-kun, I never would have thought it would end up this way, but I'm glad. I finally got to see the real you."

"That sounds rather sappy."

"Yes, I know. I apologize for that." He closed his eyes and rested his chin between his knees. "I feel like I can relax now."

Then it hit him. Now was his chance to ask the burning question. The protégés weren't in sight, and L was actually letting his guard down.

Raito slowly turned to look at the detective and asked carefully, "About calling me your friend, what did you mean by that?"

L's eyes remained closed, and he spoke in a tone that said he knew Raito was going to ask that. "Back then I had considered you a peculiar friend, meaning that I enjoyed your company for the sole fact that it kept me free from tedium. I also admired your intelligence, since you are my only equal. I have never been able to say that about anyone else in my entire life. And as for what exactly I consider you now, you are a valued friend. I am glad that I saved you, and I feel that we can start over and do things properly, granted that you allow it." He opened his eyes and lifted his head to look at the younger man beside him. "Does that answer your question, Raito-kun?"

Words failed him. He definitely wasn't expecting all of that. The genius didn't know how to react to something as simple as being called a true friend. Well, to both of them, that wasn't a simple issue. Neither had someone to call a friend while they were alive, and that was because neither cared enough to have one. Friends weren't necessary. So the asocial detective saying that Raito was his friend, a _valued_ one at that, made very little sense.

Though, Raito didn't believe that he was lying. L wouldn't have said so much if he was playing another one of his mind games. So he took the older man seriously and tried to come up with a response, but all that came to mind was "oh, I see" or "I never would have guessed." Both made him sound a little dim.

"I managed to make Raito-kun speechless," L stated with amusement.

He frowned. "You enjoy making a fool out of me, don't you?"

"Well, yes. And I believe that is justified, considered you had me killed."

"_I_ killed you," Raito corrected.

The sable-haired man held an index finger in the air and said in a mocking tone, "The Shinigami wrote my name down, thus ending my life."

"Will you knock it off? Yes, _technically_, Rem killed you. But it was because of my manipulating that she did so."

"Anyway," L said dismissively, "I didn't expect you to reply. I was merely teasing you, Raito-kun. You need to lighten up every once and a while."

Raito inhaled, about to retort, but he decided not to. He wasn't used to L being, dare he say it, playful. The man was just trying to get him all riled up, and he saw no reason to comply.

"I understand that you are uncomfortable with the fact. I was, too, in the beginning. But it's just the way things are. You can't always help how you feel for someone." Then he looked up, slightly confused. "Well, that's what I was told."

Raito dulled his eyes. The detective really wasn't good at phrasing anything that had to do with social behavior or emotions. "You do realize that you're making it seem as if you're in love with me, right?"

L blinked. "I assure you that I am not."

"I know that," he said with mild aggravation. "I'm just making you aware of how you sound."

One corner of L's mouth turned upwards, and it was the closest thing to a natural smile that Raito had seen on the older man. It startled him, but he made sure not to show it. To distract himself, he changed the subject.

"Hey, what did you mean by we can start over?"

"What do you think that means?"

He let out an exasperated sigh. "Don't answer my question with a question."

"But it wasn't an intelligent question," he replied frankly. "Are you trying to fill up the silence?"

Raito slapped his palm onto the ground and shouted, "You're calling me an idiot?"

"Not exactly."

He felt like punching him, especially when he saw that usual quirky grin on his face. _The bastard's using me as entertainment again._

"Oh, come now, Raito-kun." He reached over and patted him on the shoulder. "Don't give me that look. Cheer up."

He grabbed L's wrist and flung it away from him. "That's what you say when someone's sad, moron."

"Ah, really? I didn't think it was restricted to that emotion." He put an index to his mouth and looked upwards thoughtfully. "I still have more to learn, it seems. I wonder how many phrases are in existence that have direct connections to human emotions. Perhaps these phrases have accompanying gestures. Studying the human mind did not really help in the area of knowing what is the appropriate action to take when dealing with people."

Raito stared at him as if he had grown an extra bulging eye. He forgot how much L could babble. "One of the things you still need to learn is when to shut up."

"Hmm?"

"It's called _thinking_. You don't have to say everything out loud."

He cocked his head. "Do you believe that I voice all of my thoughts?"

"Not all of them, but a decent amount."

L hesitated before saying, "Perhaps I talk more now than when I was alive."

Crossing his arms, Raito adopted a bored expression and said, "You always talked too much."

"Well, that's just how I am, Raito-kun."

He didn't bother with a response. Instead, he proceeded to dissect everything L had said to him. Raito refused to examine his own feelings on the matter, for he dreaded what he would find. But then a thought came to him. L was fearless enough to look into his mind and even admit how he felt, something that was very out of character for him. If L could do it, why couldn't he? Was he that afraid?

"What are you frowning about, Raito-kun?"

"Nothing," he snapped.

Yagami Raito was _not_ afraid of himself. That was utterly ridiculous.

"You appear very tense."

"Shut up."

He hated L. There was no way he thought of him as a "friend." Just the very sight of him brought back annoying or infuriating memories.

"Now you look a cross between irate and petrified."

Raito instantly grabbed L by the collar, but the older man didn't react, meaning that he was purposely trying to get on Raito's nerves. He narrowed his eyes and briefly thought what he should scream in L's face. Instead, he bit back every scorching jibe and obscenity that came to mind and slowly released him.

At this, L appeared mildly shocked.

Raito settled back into his sitting position and stared ahead. What was the point in getting so angry at him, especially when that was what he wanted? It was far more satisfying going against what L expected.

So now he was brought back to the forbidden topic, his feelings for L. He inwardly cringed. _Dear god, why am I even considering this? I hate him. It's as simple as that. Then again, the experts say that emotions are never so clear cut. Hell, what do _they_ know? This isn't exactly a normal situation, anyway._

The auburn-haired man glanced at the source of his frustration and was surprised to see him relaxed, his eyes closed as if sleeping. Well, he never saw L sleep, but he imagined that was what he looked like whenever he had.

Raito was tempted to sigh. The tension between them was practically nonexistent. It was obvious that he was the only one who still had feelings of contempt for the other, and it just wasn't the same. Now they were merely intellectual equals with nothing to do. He was back at the beginning with ultimate boredom. Although, he supposed that they would still have pointless arguments. Their values definitely weren't the same, so they were bound to go for each other's throats every so often. That didn't sound _too_ bad.

"Feeling better?"

"I was enjoying the silence," Raito replied indignantly.

L opened his eyes, but he looked down at his knees rather than at the younger man. "Were you really?"

"What?"

"I figured that you are in a state of inner turmoil, trying to sort out your emotions."

"Don't you think I've already done that?" he scoffed. "I've been wandering around with nothing else better to do."

"Yes, but you have received new information since then."

He could feel his muscles tensing against his will.

"So I thought maybe you would like to get your mind off of such matters."

"Why do you care?" he barked.

L tore his gaze away from his knees and looked at him. "I'm being polite."

After giving a short laugh, Raito asked roughly, "Since when are you _polite_? You never gave a damn about adhering to social norms. You just did things your way, not caring if you offended anyone in the process. And I don't count the way you talked. Using that polite form of speech was obviously a charade." -2-

"My, Raito-kun. You think so little of me," he replied with feigned hurt. "Perhaps it could be that I have changed slightly in that way."

"While in the presence of those two idiots? Very unlikely."

"Watari is a gentleman, wouldn't you say?" L reasoned. "I don't go to Matt or Mello for assistance in those areas."

"You can't change _that_ much."

"I can change little by little as long as I have faith in myself."

Raito had to roll his eyes at that. "Knock it off. I prefer you the way you were while we were alive. Although I always hated you, I liked the fact that your oddball ways challenged me."

"I see. But didn't you expect me to act against what was considered normal? I would think that after a certain point you would be bored, being able to predict my every move."

"You still caught me off guard once in a while. I'll admit that."

The detective nodded. "Likewise."

There was a brief pause before Raito spoke up. "I still hate you."

"I figured as much."

His brows furrowed slightly. L didn't seem bothered by that fact at all. If he considered Raito such an important friend, wouldn't he be at least a_little_ hurt?

"I never expected you to gravitate towards fondness, and I don't mind that in the least. It keeps things interesting."

"For whom?"

"Both of us," he replied simply.

Raito gave him a funny look. Though, why should he be surprised? This was L, after all.

"But who knows. Eternity could make you change. It has already done its work on me."

The auburn-haired man shrugged and turned away, letting another comfortable silence fall between them. He didn't really care anymore. If he did change, so be it. He was more in control of what happened around him than when he was alive, since he could just leave the area and do whatever he wanted. Though, he had less control over his emotions. He supposed death was responsible for that. It bothered him, but he would learn to deal with it. Raito could adapt to any situation, and he took pride in that.

Eventually, the silence was broken by two visitors. Mello and Matt walked over to the pair, one laughing boisterously and the other merely smiling. Raito inwardly groaned at the intrusion and thought about leaving, but curiosity got the best of him. He had yet to see L truly interact with the orphans.

Mello knelt in front of the detective, resting one arm on his knee, and said with much enthusiasm, "Guess what we did to Roger."

"I'm sure it was something unmerited."

"Hey, you didn't like him either."

"Yes, but that doesn't mean he deserved whatever cruel thing you did to him."

Matt plopped down next to his companion. "It wasn't cruel. We just reminded him of the time we caught him bawling his eyes out while watching some romance drama."

L shook his head, smiling. "The poor man."

Mello got off his knee and leaned back, putting his arms behind him for support. "Hey, it's not our fault he hates kids." A smirk tugged at his lips. "I have some good memories of driving the old man nuts."

"You got me into trouble too much," the redhead stated.

Looking at him dully, he said, "You didn't have to follow me around, idiot."

He sighed. "But it would've been boring."

"Then you should be thanking me," he remarked smugly.

"You two have an odd relationship," Raito said abruptly, making the blonde jump.

"Holy shit! When did you get here?"

L cocked his head slightly. "He's been here the whole time."

Mello turned to his apathetic friend and asked if he had noticed Raito.

"Yeah, but he looked pretty unthreatening, so I kept my mouth shut," he answered, resting his chin in the palm of his hand. "I thought you were just ignoring him."

While the two bantered and L watched them with a barely noticeable grin, Raito thought to himself that it wasn't so terrible. _It could be worse. I could be a Shinigami with a miserable existence. If eternity does its work on me as well, I guess I'll become what I would have been if not for the Death Note. Curiosity has me on that one._

--

"Oh, yeah! That missing hand of yours!"

Mello then proceeded to nag Raito about it, which prompted the auburn-haired man to shout at him about how immature he was being and to continuously kick him away. Mello tried to get Matt involved, but he said he'd rather watch. L just laughed as Raito attempted to stand while fending off the blonde and simultaneously trying to hide the end of his right arm from view.

Then L's thoughts wandered to that of the Death Note. He occasionally thought about that horrible weapon, wondering if it could corrupt anyone. Granted, those ideas of dark justice had probably always been somewhere in Raito's mind, so that didn't mean anyone who would pick up the Note would use it or that they would use it continuously. When Raito asked him what he'd do with it, he had answered truthfully, but he had a dark sense of justice as well. It wasn't necessarily corrupt, but it was certainly unorthodox.

Perhaps he would have turned into Kira. It was something he would never know unless he was in the situation, but maybe he would have gone along the same lines as Raito.

L shuddered at the thought and turned back to watching Mello harass the ex-killer. He needed to take his mind off of it.

_There's no need to think of the "what if"s. After everything that happened in the living world and in this void, true justice prevailed. That is all that matters._

* * *

1- His first name is pronounced like the word "mile."

2- There are different forms of speech in Japanese, and L used one of the polite forms when he spoke. (He used casual speech when thinking to himself.) There really isn't an English equivalent to it. We use tone and a few words, like "please" or "may I," but that's nothing like what the Japanese do.

I hope I kept L and Raito in character. They're so hard to write sometimes. Hmm, so there _is_ rest after death. Well, I guess it depends on how you look at it. L will forever annoy Raito, and with the two orphans, there'll never be a dull moment. So it's considered peaceful to everyone but Raito. Ahaha! (He deserves it.) Anyway, I'm very sad that it's over. I would love to write more, but the plot has ended. It'd be rather pointless to just write about them meeting other people. So even though this is a relatively short fic, I hope you enjoyed it.

A final thanks to all my wonderful reviewers. You guys are the best! -gives out cookies- Much love to you all!

Minna-san gokigenyou!


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